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Ole-Johan Dahl

Norwegian co-inventor of Simula, the first object-oriented programming language

12 October 1931 – 29 June 2002 Norway Verified by our editors
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Lived
70 yrs
1931 – 2002
Works listed
2
Programming language, Book
Honours
3
Most recent 2002
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Ole-Johan Dahl was a Norwegian computer scientist who, with Kristen Nygaard, created Simula in the 1960s, the first language with classes and objects. Object-oriented programming, used in Java, C++ and Python, grew from their work, and they shared the 2001 Turing Award.

Biography

Early career

Dahl studied numerical mathematics at the University of Oslo and worked at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, writing some of Norway’s early software.

Simula

At the Norwegian Computing Center from 1962, Dahl and Kristen Nygaard designed Simula, a language for simulating systems such as factories and traffic. Simula 67 introduced classes, objects, inheritance and virtual procedures — the core ideas of object-oriented programming.

Teaching

In 1968 Dahl became the first professor of informatics at the University of Oslo, where he worked on program verification. He and Nygaard received the Turing Award and the IEEE John von Neumann Medal shortly before both died in 2002.

Influence

Simula inspired Alan Kay’s Smalltalk and Bjarne Stroustrup’s C++, which in turn shaped Java, C#, Python and most modern languages.

Timeline

  1. 1931

    Born in Mandal, Norway

  2. 1962

    Begins Simula with Nygaard

  3. 1965

    Simula I

  4. 1967

    Simula 67 introduces classes and inheritance

  5. 1968

    Professor at the University of Oslo

  6. 2001

    Turing Award

  7. 2002

    Dies in June

  8. 2002

    Died, aged 70

Notable works

  • 1967

    Simula 67 Programming language

    With Kristen Nygaard.

  • 1972

    Structured Programming Book

    With Edsger Dijkstra and Tony Hoare.

Awards and honours

  • Commander of the Order of St. Olav

    2000

  • Turing Award

    2001

  • IEEE John von Neumann Medal

    2002

Did you know?

  1. 1

    He and Nygaard both died within weeks of each other in 2002.

  2. 2

    Bjarne Stroustrup created C++ after using Simula for his PhD.

  3. 3

    The University of Oslo’s informatics building is named after him.

Connections

Related people

Also born on 12 October

Frequently asked

Who is Ole-Johan Dahl?

Ole-Johan Dahl was a Norwegian computer scientist who, with Kristen Nygaard, created Simula in the 1960s, the first language with classes and objects. Object-oriented programming, used in Java, C++ and Python, grew from their work, and they shared the 2001 Turing Award.

When did Ole-Johan Dahl die?

Ole-Johan Dahl died on 29 June 2002 at the age of 70.

Where is Ole-Johan Dahl from?

Ole-Johan Dahl was born in Mandal, Norway.

What is Ole-Johan Dahl known for?

Ole-Johan Dahl is best known for Simula; object-oriented programming; Turing Award 2001 (with Kristen Nygaard).

What awards has Ole-Johan Dahl received?

Notable honours include Commander of the Order of St. Olav (2000), Turing Award (2001), IEEE John von Neumann Medal (2002).

Who is Ole-Johan Dahl married to?

Partner: Kristen Nygaard.

References

  1. Ole-Johan Dahl — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  2. Ole-Johan Dahl — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  3. Ole-Johan Dahl (Q92745) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.

Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Ole-Johan Dahl”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more

External links

Wikipedia
Filed under NorwayObject-oriented programmingSimulaTuring Award Computer ScientistProfessor

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“Ole-Johan Dahl.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/ole-johan-dahl

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