On October 16, 2003 the American Mathematical Society and the Bolyai (Hungarian) Mathematical Society commemorated the hundreth anniversary of the birth of John von Neumann, a legend during his lifetime and one of the greatest twentieth-century mathematicians.

The ceremony, recorded through the photographs below, marked the public unveiling and presentation of a stone plaque—placed by the societies on the wall of the Budapest home where von Neumann lived until age 18. John von Neumann spent the second half of his life in the United States, based at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He became president of the American Mathematical Society in 1951 at the age of 47.

The imposing former home to the family von Neumann can be found at Bajcsy-Zslinszky str. 62. The plaque appears just to the right of the blue truck in the last photograph. The mouse-over label can help you find it..

The unveiling ceremony took place on the street just in front of the plaque. The Hungarian Minister of Informatics and Telecommunication, Kálmán Kovács, represented the Hungarian government on this occasion. Arthur Jaffe represented the American Mathematical Society, and Dénes Petz represented the Bolyai Mathematical Society. The scientific attache from the US Embassy also attended.

The dedication took place during three overlapping scientific meetings held at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Ferenc Mádl, the President of Hungary, attended throughout the morning of October 15. On that occasion he presented an interesting lecture about the importance of science for the development of Hungary and the historical role played by John von Neumann.