https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102738243

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Artifact Details

 

Title

Hamilton, Margaret oral history

Catalog Number

102738243

Type

Document

Description

In this oral history, Margaret Hamilton describes her life and career
in computing. She begins with a discussion of her family background
and youth, including family influences, job experiences, and the
development of her interest in mathematics at Earlham College. She
reviews her first impressions of computing when working as an
actuarial trainee. Her first work in programming with MIT professor
Edward Lorenz follows, as does details of her subsequent work at
Project MAC and the Lincoln Laboratory on SAGE. She reviews her work
on the software for the Apollo Guidance Computer in detail, including
her work on errors, alarms, software engineering, and her memorable
experiences with the Apollo 8 and Apollo 11 missions. Afterward, she
reviews her work on errors leading to formal methods for avoiding
them, and for control theory more broadly, developing into the
Universal Systems Language. She further details the support of this
work, and her experiences in creating two companies to pursue it. The
interview concludes with reflections on cultural issues in computing,
and more broadly.

Date

2017-04-13

Contributor

Brock, David C., Interviewer
Hamilton, Margaret H., Interviewee

Publisher

Computer History Museum

Place of Publication

Boston, MA

Extent

47 p.

Format

PDF

Category

Transcription

Subject

Earlham College; Mathematics; MIT; Lorenz, Edward; Lincoln
Laboratory; SAGE (Air defense system); Apollo space program; Apollo
Guidance Computer; Apollo 8; Apollo 11; Moon landing; Error; formal
methods; Systems; US Air Force; Entrepreneurship; Perot, Ross; US
Department of Defense; Space Shuttle Program; Universal Systems
Language; Hamilton Technologies; NASA; Skylab

Collection Title

CHM Oral History Collection

Credit

Computer History Museum

Lot Number

X8164.2017
Text

  * Transcript of Margaret Hamilton's oral history

 
 

Related Records

102738244 Hamilton, Margaret oral history

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