CS110​ ​Historical​ ​Figure​ ​Assignment

For​ ​this​ ​assignment​ ​you​ ​will​ ​write​ ​a​ ​short​ ​(700+​ ​word)​ ​paper​ ​about​ ​a​ ​famous​ ​or​ ​influential
person​ ​in​ ​the​ ​history​ ​of​ ​computer​ ​science​ ​or​ ​information​ ​technology.​ ​You​ ​may​ ​choose​ ​a​ ​person
from​ ​the​ ​list​ ​below,​ ​or​ ​if​ ​there​ ​is​ ​someone​ ​not​ ​on​ ​the​ ​list​ ​that​ ​you​ ​would​ ​like​ ​to​ ​write​ ​about,
contact​ ​your​ ​professor​ ​for​ ​approval.​ ​ ​Note​ ​that​ ​if​ ​you​ ​choose​ ​a​ ​person​ ​not​ ​on​ ​the​ ​list,​ ​that​ ​person
should​ ​generally​ ​have​ ​have​ ​done​ ​significant​ ​work​ ​to​ ​the​ ​computer​ ​science/information
technology​ ​before​ ​1975.​ ​ ​In​ ​other​ ​words,​ ​people​ ​such​ ​as​ ​Bill​ ​Gates,​ ​Steve​ ​Jobs,​ ​Mark
Zuckerberg​ ​and​ ​so​ ​forth​ ​will​ ​not​ ​be​ ​approved.​ ​ ​However,​ ​there​ ​are​ ​some​ ​names​ ​on​ ​the​ ​list​ ​that
have​ ​done​ ​influential​ ​work​ ​more​ ​recently

Your​ ​paper​ ​will​ ​be​ ​graded​ ​according​ ​to​ ​the​ ​associated​ ​rubric​ ​posted​ ​on​ ​Blackboard.​ ​Use​ ​that
rubric​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​that​ ​you​ ​have​ ​meet​ ​all​ ​the​ ​requirements​ ​of​ ​the​ ​paper.​ ​ ​In​ ​general,​ ​your​ ​paper
will​ ​be​ ​approximately​ ​four​ ​paragraphs​ ​and​ ​should​ ​include:
● A​ ​paragraph​ ​giving​ ​biographical​ ​information​ ​about​ ​the​ ​person​ ​you​ ​choose.​ ​This​ ​will
include:
○ Dates​ ​of​ ​birth​ ​and​ ​death​ ​(if​ ​known.​ ​If​ ​not​ ​known,​ ​why​ ​not?)
○ Location(s)​ ​where​ ​person​ ​grew​ ​up​ ​and/or​ ​lived
○ Influences​ ​on​ ​childhood/early​ ​adulthood
○ Any​ ​interesting​ ​aspects​ ​about​ ​the​ ​person​ ​not​ ​necessarily​ ​related​ ​to​ ​computer
science​ ​or​ ​his/her​ ​influence​ ​on​ ​the​ ​field​ ​(such​ ​as​ ​fighting​ ​in​ ​the​ ​French​ ​Revolution
or​ ​beekeeping​ ​or​ ​writing​ ​romance​ ​novels,​ ​etc.)
● A​ ​paragraph​ ​describing​ ​the​ ​contribution​ ​that​ ​your​ ​person​ ​made​ ​to​ ​the​ ​field​ ​of​ ​computer
science
○ Was​ ​it​ ​a​ ​mechanical​ ​machine?​ ​A​ ​mathematical​ ​formula?​ ​An​ ​electronic​ ​device?
An​ ​idea​ ​that​ ​drove​ ​society​ ​to​ ​use​ ​a​ ​computing​ ​device?
○ How​ ​did​ ​the​ ​person​ ​come​ ​up​ ​with​ ​the​ ​idea?
○ Did​ ​the​ ​person​ ​know​ ​that​ ​their​ ​idea​ ​would​ ​be​ ​used​ ​in​ ​the​ ​way​ ​that​ ​made​ ​it
influential​ ​to​ ​computer​ ​science?
● A​ ​paragraph​ ​describing​ ​how​ ​the​ ​contribution​ ​affected​ ​or​ ​influenced​ ​the​ ​progress​ ​of
computer​ ​science
○ Or,​ ​if​ ​it​ ​was​ ​a​ ​dead-end​ ​device​ ​or​ ​idea,​ ​what​ ​about​ ​it​ ​made​ ​it​ ​so,​ ​yet​ ​still​ ​have​ ​an
influence?
● A​ ​concluding​ ​paragraph​ ​summarizing​ ​the​ ​person​ ​and​ ​idea​ ​which​ ​will​ ​include:
○ Your​ ​thoughts​ ​about​ ​why​ ​the​ ​person,​ ​and​ ​his/her​ ​idea​ ​or​ ​device​ ​was​ ​influential
○ Your​ ​thoughts​ ​about​ ​how​ ​the​ ​world​ ​of​ ​computer​ ​science​ ​or​ ​information
technology​ ​would​ ​be​ ​different​ ​if​ ​not​ ​for​ ​your​ ​person.

In​ ​addition​ ​to​ ​your​ ​paper,​ ​you​ ​must​ ​pick​ ​at​ ​least​ ​two​ ​other​ ​people​ f​ rom​ ​the​ ​list​ ​below​ ​and​ ​write
one​ ​or​ ​two​ ​sentences​ ​regarding​ ​why​ ​they​ ​are​ ​found​ ​on​ ​the​ ​list.​ ​ ​Examples​ ​(which​ ​you​ ​may​ ​NOT
use,​ ​since​ ​they​ ​are​ ​not​ ​on​ ​the​ ​list)​ ​might​ ​be:
 ● Steve​ ​Jobs:​ ​Co-founded​ ​(with​ ​Steve​ ​Wozniak)​ ​Apple,​ ​Inc.​ ​which​ ​made​ ​and​ ​sold​ ​personal
computers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​mass​ ​market.​ ​Apple​ ​Computer​ ​became​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​largest​ ​and
influential​ ​computer​ ​and​ ​electronics​ ​company​ ​in​ ​the​ ​world.
● Bill​ ​Gates:​ ​An​ ​American​ ​entrepreneur​ ​and​ ​philanthropist.​ ​He​ ​co-founded​ ​Microsoft​ ​(with
Paul​ ​Allen)​ ​which​ ​became​ ​the​ ​world’s​ ​largest​ ​PC​ ​software​ ​company.​ ​Microsoft​ ​is
dominant​ ​in​ ​the​ ​PC​ ​operating​ ​system​ ​market.

The​ ​list​ ​of​ ​famous/influential​ ​people​ ​in​ ​computer​ ​science​ ​(in​ ​no​ ​particular​ ​order):
● Gottlob​ ​Frege ● Barbara​ ​Liskov ● Satoshi​ ​Nakamoto
● Kurt​ ​Gödel ● Tim​ ​Berners-Lee ● Ken​ ​Thompson
● Alan​ ​Turing ● David​ ​A.​ ​Huffman ● Maurice​ ​Wilkes
● Ada​ ​Lovelace ● Niklaus​ ​Wirth ● Herman​ ​Hollerith
● Richard​ ​Hamming ● Claude​ ​Shannon ● Bertrand​ ​Russell
● Blaise​ ​Pascal ● Herman​ ​Hollerith ● Emil​ ​L.​ ​Post
● John​ ​von​ ​Neumann ● Leonid​ ​Levin ● John​ ​Mauchly
● Konrad​ ​Zuse ● Gordon​ ​Moore ● Larry​ ​Page
● Grace​ ​Hopper ● George​ ​Boole ● Bill​ ​Joy
● Charles​ ​Babbage ● Joseph​ ​Marie ● Richard​ ​Stallman
● Donald​ ​Knuth Jacquard ● Linus​ ​Torvalds
● Al-Jazari ● Seymour​ ​Cray ● Hedy​ ​Lamarr
● Dennis​ ​Ritchie ● Robert​ ​Andre ● John​ ​McCarthy
● Pāṇini Tarjan ● Marvin​ ​Minsky
● Edsger​ ​Dijkstra ● Guy​ ​Steele ● John​ ​Tukey
● Norbert​ ​Wiener