May 24, 2017 jean pointed out that grace was not even on the committee. Get unlimited access to the best stories on medium and support writers while youre at it. Sammet was a graduate student in math when she first encountered a computer in 1949 at the univ. Jean and her younger sister, helen, attended public elementary schools in manhattan. Sammet 1928 is a retired programmer who is known for working on formac. Her parents, harry and ruth sammet, were both lawyers. Sammet had a strong interest in mathematics but was unable to attend the bronx high school of science because it did not accept girls. It turns out that one of her fans is actress gillian jacobs, whom you may have seen on.
For her contributions to the field of programming languages and its history. Ten minutes with jean sammet 48 alumnae association. Jean sammet was born in new york, new york, in 1928. Jean sammet received her ma in mathematics from the university of illinois in 1949. One of the first programmers of the harvard mark i computer, she was a pioneer of computer programming who invented one of the first linkers. Sammet 48 was working for sperry gyroscope, analyzing torpedo trajectories from. Sammet supervised the first scientific programming. Sammet 1928, matematica y cientifica en computacion. Computer pioneer jean sammet 48 has died mount holyoke.
March 23, 1928 computer pioneer jean sammet born jean sammet, an early pioneer of computing, is born in new york. Sammet 48 was working for sperry gyroscope, analyzing. Her book on programming languages, programming languages. Jun 03, 2017 jean sammet, an early software engineer and a designer of cobol, a programming language that brought computing into the business mainstream, died may 20 in maryland. Jean sammet passed away on may 21, 2017 at the age of 88.
But jean was a legend on her own and deserves widespread recognition maybe a us postage stamp with her on it. She earned her phd in computer science, in 1968 at stanford. While grace hopper is often called the mother of cobol, hopper was not one of the six people. Sammet, the american computer scientist who developed the formac programming language and was the first woman to serve as president of acm, passed away may 21 at the age of 89.
The basic concepts of formac formula manipulation compiler were first developed by jean e. Jean and her sister helen were born to harry and ruth sammet who were both lawyers. Jean sammet designer of cobol a computer of ones own. The book brings together in one place, and in a consistent fashion, fundamental information. Sammet was born on 23 march 1928, in new york city to lawyer parents harry and ruth sammet. A second purpose of the book is to provide specific basic information on all. Sammet, american computer scientist, that died on wednesday may 24th 2017at age 89. Jean e sammet was born on march 23rd, 1928, in new york. Both her parents, harry and ruth sammet, were lawyers. In 1961, ibm hired mathematician jean sammet, who, together. Apr 23, 2017 we are seeing a new round of appreciations for jean e.
Jean sammet engineering and technology history wiki. Sammet, an american computer scientist who developed the formac programming language and who served as the first female president of acm, passed away may 21 at the age of 89. Computer pioneer jean sammet 48 has died mount holyoke college. Jean excelled in maths, starting in the first grade, and chose to attend college at. In 1965, she became programming language technology manager in the ibm systems development division. Adam osborne adam osborne was a thailandborn britishamerican author, book and software publisher, and computer designer who founded several companies in the united states and elsewhere. Fortran was developed by ibm in the 50s, mainly for mathematical computation and scientific computing. Mhn content environmental translated content comics. In 1961, ibm hired mathematician jean sammet, who, together with grace hopper, was part of a group developed by cobol. Sammet was active in computer professional societies, particularly the association for computing machinery acm. Jean sammet is well know for her work as a programming language historian. Sammet ar 23 mawrth 1928 yn dinas efrog newydd ac wedi gadael yr ysgol leol mynychodd goleg mount holyoke, prifysgol illinois yn urbanachampaign a phrifysgol columbia. Jean excelled in math starting in the first grade and chose to attend college at mount holyoke because it had an excellent mathematics department. Grace brewster murray hopper nee murray december 9, 1906 january 1, 1992 was an american computer scientist and united states navy rear admiral.
Women in computing literature and digital diversity. Jean sammet, codesigner of a pioneering computer language. Sammet is a retired computer scientist and programmer who is bestknown for her work on formac, the first widely used general language and system for manipulating nonnumeric algebraic expressions. Sammet 48 majored in mathematics at mount holyoke and was a pioneer in developing and researching programming languages. Gwobr arloeswr mewn cyfrifiadureg, cymrawd amgueddfa hanes y cyfrifiadur, gwobr ada lovelace a gwobr gwasanaeth. Sammet supervised the first scientific programming group for sperry gyroscope co.
Sammet born march 23, 1928 in new york city is an american computer scientist who developed the formac programming language in 1962. Sammet was born in new york city on march 23rd, 1928. History and fundamentals automatic computation textbook binding june 1, 1969 by jean e. Sammet born 1928 is an american computer scientist who developed the formac programming language in 1962. New york times www site, viewed june 5, 2017 in obituary published june 4. Taking an interest in mathematics from a young age, sammet attended julia richman high school. The acm piece recounts the circuitous path she was forced to take to rise in computer science and is well worth reading. Sammet, an american computer scientist who developed the. Ymhlith yr anrhydeddau a gyflwynwyd iddi am ei gwaith maer canlynol. Jean sammet was born in new york city on march 23, 1928, to ruth and. Sammet was born in new york city on march 23, 1928. She also went further to get a ba in mathematics from mount holyoke college, which she earned in 1948, and an ma in mathematics from the university of illinois at urbanachampaign, earned in 1949. She was active in helping start the annals of the history of computing in the late 1970s and among the first group of acm fellows elected in 1994.
Sammet, the computer programmer who developed the formac programming language and was also a key member of the group that invented cobol. Most frequent coauthor most cited colleague top subject. Feb 17, 2016 a focus on women who inspire us at next century. Sammet was born on march 23, 1928, in new york city. Sammet 1 was born on 23 march 1928, in new york city. History and fundamentals automatic computation jun 1, 1969. Jeans book on programming languages in 1969 was used by many and helped promote that topic as a strong part of computer science. Tobey at ibms boston advanced programming department in july 1962. Born in new york city in 1928, jean sammet was an early american computer scientist.
She was also the first to write extensively about the history and categorization of programming languages in 1969, and became the first female president of the association for computing machinery in 1974. History and fundamentals automatic computation jean e. Dec 05, 2018 jean sammet, programming language pioneer. A ny times obituary reports that early software engineer and codesigner of cobol jean sammet died on may 20 in maryland at age 89. She has ranked on the list of those famous people who were born on march 23, 1928. Sammet 1928 2017 1 points by sohkamyung on may 29, 2017 hide past web favorite 12 comments sohkamyung on may 29, 2017. Sammet was born on march 23, 1928 in new york city. Seven astounding women who helped shape todays technology.
Sammet march 23, 1928 may 20, 2017 was an american computer scientist who developed the formac programming language. In 1962, she created formac formula manipulation compiler, the first computer programming language that was widely used. She also wrote an early book on programming and was the first female. The primary purpose of this book is to serve as a reference for an overall view of higher level languages. Sammet j an overview of programming languages for specialized application areas proceedings of the may 1618, 1972, spring joint computer conference, 299311 thompson f and dostert b the future of specialized languages proceedings of the may 1618, 1972, spring joint computer conference, 3319. Lab75 is creating integrated strategy, design and technology solutions. The issues and sequence of events leading to the development of the univac have been covered in such writings as nancy sterns from eniac to univac and herman lukoffs from dits to bits, and was the subject of the 1981 afips pioneer day. Jean e sammet march 23, 1928 may 21, 2017 jean sammet was born in new york in 1928. She created formac, the first widely used computer language for symbolic manipulation of mathematical formulas. Sammet march 23, 1928 may 20, 2017 was an american computer scientist who developed the formac programming language in 1962. Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
Gillian jacobs interviews computer programmer jean e. View latest articles, news and information about what happened to jean e. On celebs trend now, she is one of the successful computer scientist. From 1955 to 1958, she worked for sperry gyroscope where she ran the first group of scientific programmers. She was also one of the developers of the influential cobol programming language. In 1969, jean sammet was a programming language technology manager for the federal systems division of ibm corporation. Jean and helen attended public elementary schools in manhattan. Sammet, who entered the 1950s world of computers from a mathematics background, led the development of formac formula manipulation compiler, the first commonly used programming language for manipulating nonnumeric algebraic expressions.
The book brings together in one place, and in a consistent fashion, fundamental. Back in 1969 she published the book programming languages. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that. From the very early childhood, she showed her interests for mathematics and spent hours reading and solving mathematical calculations. She worked at sylvania electric products 19581961 in various positions. She served as president 19741976 and vice president 19721974 of the organization, and was involved in a number of special interest groups, committees, and conferences associated with. She was also one of the developers of the influential cobol programming language she received her b. I recognized that what was needed was a formal algebraic capability associated with an already existing numeric mathematical language. Jean e sammet the primary purpose of this book is to serve as a reference for an overall view of higher level languages. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive. Sammet is an american computer scientist who developed the formac programming language in 1962.