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Home , Ada Lovelace, Charles Babbage, John Backus, John Vincent Atanasoff

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Computer Technology InnovatorsSUR¿OHVWKHPRVWLQ- ‡ 7KH PRVW FRPSOHWH ELUWK DQG GHDWK GDWHV IRO- QRYDWLYHDQGLQÀXHQWLDOLQGLYLGXDOVLQWKHGHYHORSPHQW lowed by the most precise locations of those of technology and the evolution of the Inter- events available. net, many who have never been covered in any Salem ‡ 7KHDUHDVRIDFKLHYHPHQWLQFOXGLQJSULPDU\¿HOG Press set before. From the genesis of the World Wide and specialty, with which the subject is often most Web in 1989 as a way to organize and manage data FORVHO\LGHQWL¿HG7KLVODWWHULVDQDOOHQFRPSDVV- to the founding of the world’s largest retailer, ing categorical list and includes: and $PD]RQFRPLQWRWKH¿UVWGRFXPHQWHGWZHHWLQ ORJLF SK\VLFV DQG HQJLQHHULQJ FRPSXWHU VRIW- 2006, the history of the Internet is immeasurably rich, ZDUH FRPSXWHU KDUGZDUH FRPSXWHU SURJUDP- with milestones that have revolutionized our society. PLQJ VHFXULW\ ,QWHUQHW PDQDJHPHQW H[HFX- 7KLVQHZWLWOHH[DPLQHVWKRVHLQGLYLGXDOVPRVWUHVSRQ- WLYHVDQGLQYHVWRUVPDUNHWLQJFRPPHUFHVRFLDO sible for the technology and strategies behind the In- PHGLDFRQWHQWDQGGDWDDSSOLFDWLRQVQHZVDQG ternet today, from the pioneering community of engi- HQWHUWDLQPHQWDQGHWKLFVDQGSROLF\ neers and intellectuals who worked to realize a vision of ‡ 7KHSULPDU\FRPSDQ\RURUJDQL]DWLRQZLWKZKLFKWKH shared networks and research, to the dot-com founders individual has been associated in a meaningful way. and leaders driving business and commerce today. ‡ A synopsis of the individual’s historical impor- tance in relation to computer technology and the SCOPE OF COVERAGE evolution of the Internet, indicating why the per- Computer Technology Innovators features more than son is or should be studied today. ELRJUDSKLHVRILQGLYLGXDOVZKRKDYHKDGDVLJQL¿- FDQWLQÀXHQFHRQWKHGHYHORSPHQWRIFRPSXWHUWHFK- Each essay concludes with a byline for the contrib- nology, culminating with the advent of the Internet and XWLQJZULWHU7KHERGLHVRIWKHHVVD\VDUHGLYLGHGLQWR beyond, with an emphasis on early pioneers such as in- the following parts: YHQWRUVDQGHQJLQHHUVDQGLQÀXHQWLDOIRXQGHUVDQGH[- ecutives of computer companies. Each essay has been ‡ Early Life provides facts about the individual’s ZULWWHQVSHFL¿FDOO\IRUWKLVVHWELRJUDSKLHVUHSUHVHQW upbringing. Where little is known about the per- a strong, global, cross-gender focus, with accompany- son’s early life, historical context is provided. ing sidebars describing the company, organization, on- ‡ Life’s Work, the heart of the article, consists of a line service, or website with which that individual is straightforward, generally chronological account of most often associated. Among the editors’ criteria for how the individual gained recognition in his or her inclusion in the set was an individual’s historical sig- FKRVHQSULPDU\¿HOG DSSOLHGVFLHQFHFRPSXWHUVFL- QL¿FDQFHZKHWKHUWKURXJKWKHLUUHVSHFWLYHFRPSDQ\¶V HQFHEXVLQHVVDQGFRPPHUFHDQG,QWHUQHW HPSKD- LQÀXHQFHLQWKH,QWHUQHWZRUOGRUWKHLUUROHLQWKHGH- VL]LQJ WKH PRVW VLJQL¿FDQW HQGHDYRUV DQG DFKLHYH- YHORSPHQWDQGHYROXWLRQRIWKH,QWHUQHWLWVHOIKLVRU PHQWV²DQGIDLOXUHV²RIWKH¿JXUH¶VOLIHDQGFDUHHU KHUUHOHYDQFHWRDFDGHPLFFXUULFXOXPDQGKLVRUKHU ‡ Personal Information provides closing remarks appeal to high school and undergraduate students and on the person, including post–achievement activi- general readers. ties or positions, family life, and topics of general interest. ESSAY LENGTH AND FORMAT Each essay is approximately 2,000 words in length and Each essay also includes an annotated Further Read- displays standard reference top matter offering easy ac- ing section that provides a starting point for additional cess to the following biographical information: research.

‡ 7KHQDPHE\ZKLFKWKHVXEMHFWLVEHVWNQRZQ SPECIAL FEATURES ‡ A succinct description of each individual’s na- Several features distinguish this series as a whole tionality and occupation. IURP RWKHU ELRJUDSKLFDO UHIHUHQFH ZRUNV 7KH EDFN vii

Comp Tech Book.indb 7 2/22/2013 10:34:14 AM PUBLISHER’S NOTE COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY INNOVATORS

matter includes the following aids, appendices, and concepts and discoveries, technologies, terms, indexes: principles, and other topics of discussion.

‡ 7LPHOLQHSUHVHQWVDFRPSUHKHQVLYHWLPHOLQHRI Other features include: milestone events that represent a concise history ‡ Sidebars: A highlight of this publication and key of the Internet, both theoretical and commercial feature of every essay, the sidebars describe the in scope. company, organization, online service, or web- ‡ General Bibliography: offers an extensive list of VLWHIRUZKLFKHDFKSUR¿OHGSHUVRQLVEHVWNQRZQ resources relevant to the study of the history of Sidebars also describe why the organization or computer technology and the Internet. FRPSDQ\ZDVLQÀXHQWLDOZLWKLQDSDUWLFXODU¿HOG ‡ Biographical Directory: an annotated and concise ‡ Images: More than eighty illustrations appear listing of those individuals featured in the volume. with the essays. ‡ &DWHJRU\ ,QGH[ SUR¿OHV ¿JXUHV E\ DUHD RI SUL- PDU\¿HOGRUVSHFLDOW\ CONTRIBUTORS ‡ Company Index: lists the individuals associated Salem Press would like to extend its appreciation to RUDI¿OLDWHGZLWKDFRPSDQ\RURUJDQL]DWLRQLQ all involved in the development and production of this many capacities. ZRUN7KHHVVD\VKDYHEHHQZULWWHQDQGVLJQHGE\ZULW- ‡ Index: provides a comprehensive index includ- ers and scholars of history, the sciences, and other disci- LQJSHUVRQDJHVVFLHQWL¿FDQGFRPSXWHUUHODWHG plines related to the essays’ topics.

viii

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HOWARD H. AIKEN Designer of the computer Born:0DUFK+RERNHQ1HZ-HUVH\ ing in 1923. After graduation, he took a job at an electric Died:0DUFK3DOR$OWR&DOLIRUQLD plant and worked in Madison, Chicago, and Detroit un- Primary Field: til 1932. Graduate work at the University of Chicago Specialty: Computer hardware DQG+DUYDUG8QLYHUVLW\FDPHODWHU$LNHQUHFHLYHGDQ Primary Company/Organization: IBM A.M. from Harvard in 1937 and his Harvard doctorate in in 1939. His mother traveled to INTRODUCTION with him and remained there while Aiken was on the In the late 1930s, college professor Howard H. Aiken faculty, even after his postwar marriage. She prepared a sold International Business (IBM) on devel- oping the digital computer he had designed. Although other claimants exist, Aiken, according to historians, has the strongest claim of any of the contenders to the title of inventor of the digital computer. His Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator was the progenitor if not the prototype of the modern computer.

EARLY LIFE Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Daniel and Margaret Emily Mierisch Aiken, Howard Hathaway Aiken grew XSLQ,QGLDQDSROLV,QGLDQD7RKHOSVXSSRUWKLVIDPLO\ he took a night job as a switchboard operator for the lo- FDO XWLOLW\ 7KH VFKRRO VXSHULQWHQGHQW 0LOR 6WHZDUW hearing that Aiken was working the twelve-hour-shift night job as well as attending school, allowed Aiken to test out of classes to cover a shortage of credits and JUDGXDWHHDUO\+HJUDGXDWHGIURP$UVHQDO7HFK¶V¿UVW graduating class. Stewart also wrote recommendations to every public utility in the university town of Madi- son, Wisconsin, where Aiken found a job as a telephone operator. He moved there with his mother, establishing her in her own apartment while he roomed with two or three others. In 1919, Aiken began attending the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, graduating in electrical engineer- Howard H. Aiken. 1

Comp Tech Book.indb 1 2/22/2013 10:34:16 AM Howard H. Aiken Computer Technology Innovators

hot lunch for him every day. Aiken said it was a good attuned to broader concepts, and he had no particular way to guarantee that she had at least one meal a day. interest in the nuts and bolts. Aiken became assistant professor and naval lieutenant 7KHUHZHUHIHZPHFKDQLFDOFDOFXODWRUVLQH[LVWHQFH commander in 1941. in 1943, when, as a Harvard professor, Aiken contacted IBM. His Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator LIFE’S WORK (ASCC) had no keyboard or screen. It was powered by In graduate school, Aiken became aggravated by the electricity and used punch cards to give commands and time it took to do the computations involved in differen- magnetic switches to perform the computations at speeds WLDOHTXDWLRQVLQWHJUDOWRKLVHOHFWURQLFVVWXGLHV7KLQN- LPSRVVLEOH IRU KXPDQV 7KH $6&& GHEXWHG LQ  ing that he and other scientists could better spend their Called the Mark I, it added, subtracted, divided, and mul- time on real problems than on simple arithmetic, Aiken tiplied to 23 decimal places and referred back to its earlier decided to invent a to handle the simple tasks. results. It gave access to multiple users simultaneously It was a bit harder than merely collecting parts and put- (at least two). It weighed 35 tons, stood 8 feet tall, and ting them together, however. required 500 miles of wire and most of the space in a Aiken read the work of and used laboratory at Harvard. It had 750,000 parts, was 5 inches it as the basis for his design. Aiken began working on thick, and had 3,000 relays that clicked noticeably, mak- the machine in 1935, when he joined the Harvard staff ing the Mark I in operation sound like a knitter’s conven- as instructor in physics and communications engineer- tion. Operations entailed working with 1,400 switches LQJ7KHPDFKLQHUHTXLUHGWZR\HDUVRIWKHRUHWLFDOZRUN and running four punched paper tapes, but the machine and six years of construction. Aiken was a naval reserve could add or subtract 23-digit numbers in 0.3 second, RI¿FHURQOHDYHWR+DUYDUGIRUWKHSURMHFW multiply in 4 seconds, and divide in 12 seconds. Aiken In 1937, he developed a way to identify numbers in and several IBM employees shared the patent. binary code using the on/off characteristic of electrical Although journalists called it an electronic brain, relays. Beginning work in 1939, Aiken made his ma- the Mark I had no electronics but was instead an elec- chine as simple as he could while getting it to use posi- tromechanical device. Slow by modern standards, the tive and negative numbers, sines and other mathemati- Mark I nevertheless began the modern in- cal functions, and common mathematical sequences. dustry and made the United States its world leader. Operation had to be automatic in what IBM labeled the Later designs—the Mark II, III, and IV — Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, more fa- ZHUHPRUHVWUHDPOLQHG7KH0DUNVHULHVHQDEOHGWKH86 miliarly the Mark I. Navy to calculate trajectories for bombs and missiles dur- Aiken’s colleagues thought the calculator would be ing and after World War II. It appeared to be a mechanical far too expensive to build and directed him to IBM, a brain, a threat to humanity, but it did relieve human be- major manufacturer of accounting machines, tabulators, ings of massive amounts of drudge work. FDOFXODWRUVDQGRWKHURI¿FHPDFKLQHV,%0XVHGSXQFK 7KH0DUN,,¶VGDWDUHOD\VZLWFKIDLOHGEHFDXVHRID card technology, accumulated data, and transferred data dead moth between two contacts. After that, any correc- across devices as accounting tools. IBM was the only tion to a computer was referred to as “debugging.” company in the world that had the expertise and compo- Bryce was the only person at IBM whom Aiken nents that Aiken needed. Later machines—for instance respected and for whom he had no harsh words. Wat- ENIAC (the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Com- son had a deep respect for the Ivy League and a strong puter)—would be created through custom parts, but Ai- commitment to using his company for the betterment of ken took IBM’s experience and parts and used them for humanity. However, as head of IBM, a major business, his new device. Watson was not inclined to bend to Aiken, who also was Aiken met with James Bryce, holder of more than not inclined to compromise. According to Ralph Nie- 500 patents, and the two broached the idea of the ASCC mann, who worked with Aiken in Dahlgren, Virginia, to IBM president 7KRPDV:DWVRQ,%0DJUHHGWRIXQG $LNHQZDV³¿HUFHO\LQGHSHQGHQWDQGG\QDPLF´:RUN- WZRWKLUGVRIWKHELOODQGWKHJRYHUQPHQW¿QDQFHGWKH ing at IBM’s labs in Endicott, New York, he encoun- other third of the half-million-dollar project. IBM took tered friction: Aiken and IBM each regarded the other on a project well beyond anything it had attempted as taking too much credit for the machine. before. It required new engineering and design, not Aiken was also practical, however, asking inter- just assembly from off-the-shelf parts. Aiken was more viewee mathematicians if they knew how to handle a 2

Comp Tech Book.indb 2 2/22/2013 10:34:17 AM Computer Technology Innovators Howard H. Aiken

7KH$6&&ZDVNQRZQLQ1D]L*HUPDQ\DQGLQWKH Affiliation: IBM 1950s preparers of lineages and family trees of comput- ing commonly gave the ASCC a prominent position as IBM is commonly defined as the brainchild of Thomas WKH¿UVWZLWK$LNHQDVWKHLQYHQWRU:KHQKHUHFHLYHG . Watson, Sr., in 1914, but arguably its roots go back to the initial Harry Goode Memorial Award for Outstand- the 1870s, when Herman Hollerith found a solution ing Achievement in the Field of Computing, it recog- to the long-standing problem of counting census QL]HGKLVPDMRULPSDFWRQWKH¿HOGDVGLGWKHUH- data. Hollerith’s punch card equipment debuted in naming of the Harvard center for him. the 1890 census. By 1911 Hollerith was ready to sell his company, and the firm merged with two others to PERSONAL LIFE form IBM, with Watson coming on as head of the new Aiken’s personality clash with Watson led him to deny business in 1914. Watson took a entrepreneurial Watson’s involvement in the development of the ASCC. company and made it into a vertically integrated When he retired, he moved to Fort Lauderdale, where behemoth dominating business machines through he received a distinguished professorship from the aggressive research and development in business University of Miami. He developed the university’s areas through the Depression and World War II. After computer center and computer science program. He be- the war, computing shifted to from electromechanical came a consultant, founding Howard Aiken Industries to electronic technologies, and IBM found itself strug- Incorporated, and specialized in taking over and reviv- gling until Thomas Watson Jr., brought out the com- ing struggling businesses and then selling them. He also pany’s first electronic machine, with the System 360 consulted for Lockheed Missiles and Monsanto. He dominating from the 1960s through the 1980s. Com- developed a method of encrypting data for information placency and difficulties turning the Queen Mary of security. computing companies led IBM to struggle in the Aiken had married Lousie Mancill in 1939. After 1980s and later as small and innovative start-ups they divorced in 1942, he married Agnes Montgomery, moved faster into new technologies. D/DWLQWHDFKHU+HGLYRUFHG$JQHVDQGPDUULHGKLV¿- nal wife, Mary McFarland. He had two children: Ra- screwdriver. He was available night and day for workers FKHO$QQE\KLV¿UVWZLIHDQG(OL]DEHWK %HWV\ E\KLV who encountered problems and understood the impor- second. tance of what he was doing in pioneering large-scale Aiken was 6 feet, 4 inches tall with a large head computers. He considered himself not only a designer and an intimidating presence. He had a quick temper but also a teacher and molder of people. He initially be- DQGFRXOGEHGLI¿FXOWWRZRUNZLWKIsaac Auerbach tells lieved that the computer would be suited only for math- the story of how, while taking a course at Harvard with ematical uses, but he came to recognize that it had busi- Aiken, he sought summer employment with J. Presper ness applications as well. Aiken’s Mark II, known as the Eckert and ’s Electronic Control Com- Aiken Relay Computer, was developed for the Naval pany in . Aiken had a with-us-or-with-the- 6XUIDFH:HDSRQV&HQWHULQ'DKOJUHQ7KH0DUN,,DQG enemy attitude and apparently a jealousy of Eckert and Mark III were built at a combined cost of $2 million. Mauchly because their ENIAC was competing success- When designing computers Aiken sought to balance the fully with his Mark I. From that point Auerbach was a speed of the calculator with the capacity of the input- SDULDKVKXQQHGE\$LNHQRQFRQWDFWXQWLO¿QDOO\$X- output devices. erbach moved to Burroughs, at which point Aiken re- When Harvard opened a new computer facility, newed his friendship with Auerbach. ODWHUQDPHGIRU$LNHQ$LNHQZDVLWV¿UVWGLUHFWRU+H Aiken also had a soft side, however, and was re- was also instrumental in establishing university-level garded by many as affable, sociable, and generous. computer science. Courses in computer science began When John Harr was a graduate student in mathemat- at Columbia in 1946–47, the year before they did at ics, Aiken initially turned him down for a job as a +DUYDUG,Q$LNHQHVWDEOLVKHGWKH¿UVWPDVWHU¶V because he preferred not to work with program focusing on computing machines, a precursor graduate students and others who could not commit to the computer science program. Many of Aiken’s stu- to programming full time. Aiken relented after Harr GHQWVZHQWRQWREHFRPHNH\¿JXUHVLQWKHGHYHORSPHQW returned and, not mentioning graduate school, said he of computing. needed work and would study as time permitted. Harr 3

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got the job and the degree and worked for Aiken for Cohen, I. Bernard, Gregory W. Welch, and Robert V. eight years. D. Campbell, eds. Makin’ Numbers: Howard Aiken While on a business trip to St. Louis, Aiken died on and the Computer%RVWRQ0,73ULQW)XOO March 14, 1973. He was seventy-three years old. of Aiken’s work, including the technical element. John H. Barnhill Esmenger, Nathan L. “Howard Aiken/Makin’ Num- bers.” Business History Review 73.4 (1999): 761. FURTHER READING Print. Reviews Cohen’s biography as well as the Bonasia, J. “Aiken, the Computer Master.” Investor’s companion piece, Cohen’s coedited collection of Business Daily 18 July 2008: n. pag. Business essays Makin’ Numbers7KHIRFXVLVRQWHFKQLFDO Source Complete. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. A brief over- development of the ASCC, the Harvard Mark I, and view of Aiken’s invention of the Automatic Se- Aiken’s role in developing computer science as a quence Controlled Calculator. discipline. Cohen, I. Bernard. Howard Aiken: Portrait of a Com- Karwatka, Dennis. “Howard Hathaway Aiken.” Tech puter Pioneer%RVWRQ0,73ULQW%LRJUD- Directions 55.9 (1996): 12. Business Source Com- phy of Aiken by a colleague at Harvard acknowl- plete:HE$SU3UR¿OHV$LNHQ¶VFDUHHU edges Aiken’s contributions but also indicates that Pugh, Emerson. Building IBM: Shaping an Industry and the development of the digital computer was more Its Technology %RVWRQ 0,7  3ULQW 7UDFHV than a one-person effort. the history of the company through the 1990s.

FRANCES E. ALLEN First woman to win the A. M.

Born:$XJXVW3HUX1HZ

INTRODUCTION Frances E. Allen, an American computer research scien- tist and pioneer in computing, spent nearly half a century working on and high-performance computing systems. Her work led to technologies that formed the foundation for the theory of program optimization and contributed to the use of high-performance computers in weather forecasting, DNA matching, and national security-code breaking. Allen was among the ¿rst women recognized for her role in the technical aspect of comput- ing. Her many awards include being named an IBM Fellow and winning the A. M. Turing Award; she was the ¿rst woman to be so honored with both titles.

EARLY LIFE Frances Elizabeth “Fran” Allen was born August 4, 1932, in Peru, New York, a few miles south of the Cana- GLDQERUGHU7KHROGHVWRIVL[FKLOGUHQIRXUER\VDQG Frances E. Allen.

4

Comp Tech Book.indb 4 2/22/2013 10:34:18 AM TIMELINE

These milestone events below represent a concise history of the Internet, both theoretical and commercial in scope.

DATE MILESTONE

1957 After the Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the United States forms the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to create a communications network that links the country in the event that a military strike renders conventional communication useless.

1961 “Information Flow in Large Communications Nets,” a paper by computer science professor /HQ.OHLQURFNLVSXEOLVKHGLWRXWOLQHVSDFNHWVZLWFKLQJZKLFKJURXSVWRJHWKHUWUDQVPLWWHG data into suitably-sized blocks.

1965 $WWKHIHGHUDOO\IXQGHG0,7/LQFROQ/DERUDWRU\DUHVHDUFKFHQWHUGHGLFDWHGWRWKHDSSOLFD- WLRQRIDGYDQFHGWHFKQRORJ\WKH¿UVWQHWZRUNH[SHULPHQWIRU$53$LVFRQGXFWHG'XULQJWKH experiment, two computers interacted with each other using packet switching technology.

1969 7KH$GYDQFHG5HVHDUFK3URMHFWV$JHQF\1HWZRUN $53$1(7 FRQVLGHUHGWKHSUHGHFHVVRU of the Internet, is commissioned by the Department of Defense for research into networking. 7RPDQ\WKLVPDUNVWKHRI¿FLDO³ELUWKRIWKH,QWHUQHW´

1969 7KH¿UVW$35$1(7PHVVDJH²³/R´²LVVHQWLQDQDWWHPSWWRVSHOOORJLQEXWWKHV\VWHP crashed.

1972 (OHFWURQLFPDLOLVLQWURGXFHGE\5D\7RPOLQVRQDFRPSXWHUHQJLQHHUIURP&DPEULGJH0DV- sachusetts. He used the @ sign to distinguish between the sender’s name and the name of the network.

1973 7KHWHUP³,QWHUQHW´¿UVWFDPHLQWRPRGHUQXVDJH

1973 7KH¿UVWLQWHUQDWLRQDOFRQQHFWLRQVWRWKH$35$1(7DUHHVWDEOLVKHGWRWKH8QLYHUVLW\&ROOHJH of London and the Norwegian Seismic Array, or NORSAR (Norway).

1974 7KH¿UVW,QWHUQHW6HUYLFH3URYLGHU ,63 LVFUHDWHGZLWKWKHLQWURGXFWLRQRIDFRPPHUFLDOYHU- VLRQRI$35(1(7FDOOHG7HOHQHW

1975 7KH¿UVWDOOLQFOXVLYHHPDLOSURJUDPLVLQWURGXFHGSURYLGLQJUHSO\LQJIRUZDUGLQJDQG¿OLQJ functionalities and options.

1975 2IWHQDWWULEXWHGDVWKH¿UVWSHUVRQDOFRPSXWHU 3& WKH$OWDLULVLQWURGXFHGDQGLV surprisingly sold in high quantities. Because of the computer’s surprising sales and because LWXVHG0LFURVRIW¶V¿UVWSURGXFW $OWDLU%$6,& WKHLQWURGXFWLRQRIWKHPLFURFRPSXWHUEH- comes an important milestone in the personal computer revolution.

371

Comp Tech Book.indb 371 2/22/2013 10:36:56 AM BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY

The following list brieÀy summarizes the achievements of covered in this publication.

A

Howard H. Aiken: In the late 1930s, college professor technologies, medical research, space and oceanic ex- Howard H. Aiken sold International Business Machines ploration, entertainment, and sports. Allen and his sister (IBM) on developing the digital computer he had de- Jody founded the Paul G. Allen Family Fund to pro- signed. Although other claimants exist, Aiken, accord- PRWHFRPPXQLW\SURMHFWVLQWKH3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVW+H ing to historians, has the strongest claim of any of the also built the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal contenders to the title of inventor of the digital computer. Health at Washington State University. Allen owns the His Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator was the 6HDWWOH6HDKDZNVIRRWEDOOWHDPDQGWKH3RUWODQG7UDLO progenitor if not the prototype of the modern computer. Blazers basketball team and is part owner of the Seattle Sounders soccer team. He also owns a yacht, the Octo- Frances E. Allen: Frances E. Allen, an American pus which he sails annually to the Cannes Film Festival, computer research scientist and pioneer in computing, where he hosts lavish parties for celebrities. spent nearly half a century working on compilers and high-performance computing systems. Her work led to : One of the fathers of the com- technologies that formed the foundation for the theory puter, John Vincent Atanasoff was an State College of program optimization and contributed to the use of professor whose work in the 1930s and culminated high-performance computers in weather forecasting, LQWKH¿UVWHOHFWURQLFGLJLWDOFRPSXWHUWKH$WDQDVRII%HU- DNA matching, and national security-code breaking. ry Computer (ABC), designed with his student Clifford E. $OOHQ ZDV DPRQJ WKH ¿UVW ZRPHQ UHFRJQL]HG IRU KHU %HUU\7KH$%&LQFOXGHGQXPHURXVIHDWXUHVWKDWZRXOG role in the technical aspect of computing. Her many become synonymous with computing, although it lacked awards include being named an IBM Fellow and win- DFHQWUDOSURFHVVLQJXQLW &38 $%&¶VVLJQL¿FDQFHZDV QLQJWKH$07XULQJ$ZDUGVKHZDVWKH¿UVWZRPDQ QRWLPPHGLDWHO\UHFRJQL]HGLWZDVRQO\WKURXJKDODWHU to be so honored with both titles. patent case, showing that the patent sought actually de- rived from Atanasoff’s work, that Atanasoff’s seniority in Paul Allen: Known by the public as a cofounder of the WKHEXUJHRQLQJ¿HOGZDVHVWDEOLVKHG$WDQDVRIIZDVODWHU giant Microsoft, Paul Allen played an active placed in charge of designing a large-scale computer for role in the company until 1983, when his role ended for the Naval Ordnance Laboratory and designed systems health reasons. Since that time, he has become a major for the Navy’s Operation Crossroads, a series of atomic player in a number of venues by investing in computer bomb tests at Bikini Atoll.

B

Charles Babbage: Charles Babbage was the inventor he was so far ahead of his time. It was not until the of the difference and analytical engines, which became computer age, during the last quarter of the twentieth WKH IRUHUXQQHUV RI WKH PRGHUQ FRPSXWHU 7KH GLIIHU- century and nearly a century after his death, that Bab- HQFH HQJLQH HPSOR\HG WKH ¿UVW H[DPSOH RI FRPSXWHU EDJHZDV¿QDOO\JLYHQKLVGXHDVWKHFUHDWRURIWKH¿UVW language on record. Babbage was considered a major . As a result, he is now alternately voice in the school of thought that sought to apply known as the father, the grandfather, and the godfather VFLHQWL¿F PHWKRGV WR FRPPHUFH GXULQJ WKH ,QGXVWULDO of modern computing. Revolution, and his ideas were implemented in the development of tools and in manufacturing and engi- : John Backus’s work at IBM revolu- neering techniques. Although Babbage was recognized tionized computer programming. In the 1950s, he as- as a mathematical genius during his lifetime, his work sembled and led the team that developed , the failed to win him widespread fame. He often suffered ¿UVW KLJKOHYHO SURJUDPPLQJ ODQJXDJH RQH ULJRURXV ridicule at the hands of his contemporaries because enough to remain in use today. In the course of doing 379

Comp Tech Book.indb 379 2/22/2013 10:36:57 AM COMPANY INDEX

Acer CA Technologies Google Stan Shih, 293 Charles Wang, 338 Guido van Rossum, 271 Eric Schmidt, 287 Adobe Cisco Systems Charles Geschke, 105 John T. Chambers, 52 Government Code and John Warnock, 341 Padmasree Warrior, 344 Cypher School () Aldus Compaq Tommy Flowers, 98 Paul Brainerd, 33 Rod Canion, 46 , 321 Jim Harris, 122 Anita Borg Institute for Hewlett-Packard Women and Technology Compuware Carly Fiorina, 95 Anita Borg, 30 Peter Karmanos Jr., 151 , 124 David Packard, 246 Apple Control Data Corporation Tim Cook, 55 William C. Norris, 225 IBM Steve Jobs, 144 Howard H. Aiken, 1 Mike Markkula, 189 Cray Research Frances E. Allen, 4 , 362 , 58 John Backus, 17 David Ferrucci, 92 ASK Dartmouth College Feng-hsiung Hsu, 137 Sandra L. Kurtzig, 167 John G. Kemeny, 154 Frederick Jelinek, 141 Thomas Kurtz, 164 Virginia Rometty, 268 Association for Computing Jean Sammet, 275 Machinery Defense Advanced Research Linda S. Sanford, 281 Barbara Simons, 299 Projects Agency Alan Shugart, 296 Robert Taylor, 312 Thomas J. Watson, Sr., 347 Atari Nolan Bushnell, 42 Dell Institute for Advanced Ted Dabney, 62 Michael Dell, 67 Study , 325 Babbage Digital Equipment Corpora- , 185 tion Intel Kenneth H. Olsen, 238 Gordon E. Moore, 212 Bell Laboratories , 228 , 265 Eidgenössische Technische , 290 Hochschule Zürich Iowa State College , 305 , 357 John Vincent Atanasoff, 10 , 308 , 315 Foveon iRobot Federico Faggin, 89 Helen Greiner, 112 Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory Gateway Jansenites , 350 Mike Hammond, 119 Blaise Pascal, 252 Ted Waitt, 329 Cambridge University Lenovo Charles Babbage, 14 Liu Chuanzhi, 182

401

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