![Screenshot of gwern.net: The Legend of von Neumann (1973) [pdf]](https://hn.urlbox.com/shots/renders/2026/10/2/f40e3e6d-db7b-4d6b-8562-1f3d9460447c.jpg)
The Legend of von Neumann (1973) [pdf](gwern.net)
292 points by suopspaces | 163 comments
A 1973 essay by mathematician Paul Halmos recounting the life, achievements, and legends of John von Neumann, presented as a scanned PDF.
#biography on Hacker News
4 stories tagged biography, newest first.
Jacques Barzun, Cultural historian and critic (1980)(csmonitor.com)
9 points by Michelangelo11 | 5 comments
A 1980 Christian Science Monitor profile of Jacques Barzun, the cultural historian, teacher, and critic of the arts and letters.
![Screenshot of ipaidia.gr: Fabrice Bellard: Biography (2009) [pdf]](https://hn.urlbox.com/shots/renders/2025/12/24/7b6ce608-283e-4193-b480-6158e32ad751.jpg)
Fabrice Bellard: Biography (2009) [pdf](ipaidia.gr)
344 points by lioeters | 120 comments
A PDF biography of programmer Fabrice Bellard by Andy Gocke and Nick Pizzolato, covering his background and influential software contributions.
Edsger Dijkstra carried computer science on his shoulders (2020)(inference-review.com)
342 points by throwup238 | 195 comments
Inference Review essay by Krzysztof Apt profiling the life and contributions of computer scientist Edsger Dijkstra.