> Dijkstra attacked the paper that inspired Haskell..

While Dijkstra's criticism probably does deserve to be called an "attack", the resulting exchange between him and Backus was highly thought-provoking and entertaining.

https://github.com/jiahao/backus-dijkstra-letters-1979/

https://medium.com/@acidflask/this-guys-arrogance-takes-your...

> He should be a footnote in history.

Please read the posted article, and educate yourself on his historical significance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsger_W._Dijkstra#Pioneering_...