John Horton Conway

John Horton Conway (26 December 1937 – 11 April 2020) was an English mathematician. He was active in the theory of finite groups, knot theory, number theory, combinatorial game theory and coding theory. He also made contributions to many branches of recreational mathematics, most notably the invention of the cellular automaton called the Game of Life. His career was intertwined with that of Martin Gardner, who featured Conway's game of Life in his Mathematical Games column in October 1970. Conway died in New Brunswick, New Jersey, at the age of 82, from complications from COVID-19. He had three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The Game of life has spawned hundreds of computer programs, web sites, and articles. TheWiki is devoted to curating and cataloging the various aspects of the game and the various facets of mathematics. The game helped to launch a new branch of mathematics, the field of cellular automata. It is known to be complete to be Turing-binatorial and Turing-complete to Turing. It has been a favorite in computer labs, both for its practical interest and as a practical exercise in programming and data display.