BASIC
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BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College in 1963. They wanted to enable students in non-scientific fields to use computers. At the time, nearly all computers required writing custom software, which only scientists and mathematicians tended to learn.
The HP 2000 system was designed to run time-shared BASIC as its primary task.
"Train Basic every day!"—reads a poster (bottom center) in a Russian school (c. 1985–1986)
BASIC came to some video game systems, such as the Nintendo Famicom.
John G. Kemeny
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John George Kemeny was a Hungarian-born American mathematician, computer scientist, and educator best known for co-developing the BASIC programming language in 1964 with Thomas E. Kurtz. Kemeny served as the 13th President of Dartmouth College from 1970 to 1981 and pioneered the use of computers in college education. Kemeny chaired the presidential commission that investigated the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. According to György Marx he was one of The Martians.
John G. Kemeny
Commemorative plaque to John George Kemeny. It is affixed to the wall of his former domicile.