(Born Aug. 9, 1927)
Britannica –
“[Jewish] American mathematician and computer scientist, one of the most famous practitioners of the science of artificial intelligence (AI).
Following service in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1945, Minsky enrolled in 1946 at Harvard University to explore his many intellectual interests. After completing research in physics, neurophysiology, and psychology, Minsky graduated with honors in mathematics in 1950. In 1951 he entered Princeton University, and in that same year he built the first neural network simulator. In 1954, with a doctorate in mathematics from Princeton, Minsky returned to Harvard as a member of the prestigious Society of Fellows. He invented the confocal scanning microscope in 1955.
In 1957 Minsky moved across town to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to pursue his interest in using computers to model and understand human thought. Among others interested in AI was John McCarthy, an MIT professor of electrical engineering who had developed the LISP computer programming language and contributed to the development of time–sharing computer systems (systems in which multiple users interact with a single mainframe computer). In 1959 Minsky and McCarthy co–founded what became the MIT AI Laboratory. It quickly became one of the preeminent research centers and training grounds for the nascent field of AI. Minsky remained at MIT for the rest of his career, becoming Donner Professor of Science in 1974 and Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Laboratory in 1990.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/384568/Marvin–Lee–Minsky (accessed April 16, 2009)