Léon Dostert

Léon Dostert (May 14, 1904 – September 1, 1971) was a French-born American scholar of languages and a pivotal proponent of machine translation.

He was responsible for enduring innovations in interpretation, such as the simultaneous, head-set method used at the Nuremberg Trials, which is still used today at international gatherings and international institutions like the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Born in Longwy, France, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Dostert's foreign-language capabilities became apparent during a childhood affected by World War I.

[2] He entered Occidental College in 1925, before moving to Georgetown University a few years later, where in 1928 he gained a BS in foreign service.

[4][5] Dostert himself announced the achievement, though the public event itself was more a proof of concept to garner further interest and resources.