A few bright spots
- 1940s: Alan Turing's work (code-breaking "bombe" machines; theory)
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1949: John von Neumann stored program architecture (EDSAC)
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1957-9: John Backus, Columbia math major dropout, formalized specification of computer languages (Backus-Naur form)
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1970: E.F. Codd publishes relational database paper
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1969-73: James Ellis and Clifford Cocks develop public-key cryptography in Britain (kept secret)
What unifies these achievements? None have to be revisited. All were developed by mathematicians.