Remembering Ken Iverson Ken Iverson died on Tuesday night at the age of 83. Dr Iverson invented the APL and J programming languages. I remember him as a dedicated teacher, and a masterly exponent of Socratic method. Teaching math at Harvard he found conventional mathematical notation unsatisfactory. A true maverick, he devised his own notation (A Programming Language, Wiley, 1962) and set about teaching the rest of the world to use it. IBM used ‘Iverson notation’ to write the first formal description of a computer; a machine implementation of Iverson notation became APL, and the rest is history.
Ken Iverson passed away Tuesday evening, October 19th at the age of 83. Ken was at his computer Saturday afternoon working on a new J lab when he had a stroke. Three days later he died quietly with his wife Jean by his side, along with other family members. Ken had a wonderful and memorable life. He enjoyed it fully and he freely shared his joy with so many others.
Many people have contributed to the start, growth, and evolution of J. But Ken's role was central and inspirational. J exists because of Ken and we will always remember that.
The J Forum was a particular joy for Ken. He was an avid reader and was amazed and pleased with the civility.
In his last days Ken expressed confidence that the J seeds he had planted had taken root and was satisfied that the steady and healthy growth would continue. Ken has passed a torch and it is now up to us.
Ken's immediate family is having a private memorial service. In lieu of flowers, please make a memorial donation to the charity of your choosing or to the Academy of Life Long Learning (www.allto.ca). Ken's life was based on the importance of education and teaching and in recent years, with Jean's serious involvement, the Academy was an important part of Ken's wider life outside of J.
Eric Iverson
Posted by SJT at October 22, 2004 09:30 AMTrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.5jt.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/43
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Remembering Ken Iverson:
» vibrators from vibrators
great post.. debt consolidation [Read More]
Tracked on February 4, 2006 05:18 PM
» poker casino742 from poker casino742
poker casino poker 434 [Read More]
Tracked on February 10, 2006 01:21 AM
» adult sex toys from adult sex toys
adult sex toys [Read More]
Tracked on February 18, 2006 06:22 AM
» online poker from online poker
Counseling service as loan account. [Read More]
Tracked on March 5, 2006 11:36 PM
» online poker from online poker
State that be among you. [Read More]
Tracked on March 5, 2006 11:36 PM
» online poker from online poker
Redeem the value check loans. [Read More]
Tracked on March 5, 2006 11:37 PM
» life insurance quotes from life insurance quotes
Buffer against emergencies expenses of. [Read More]
Tracked on March 6, 2006 04:54 AM
» life insurance quotes from life insurance quotes
Compare offers look credit you. [Read More]
Tracked on March 6, 2006 04:54 AM
» life insurance quotes from life insurance quotes
The terms you personal wishes. [Read More]
Tracked on March 6, 2006 04:55 AM
» free health insurance quote from free health insurance quote
Compared with machinery free health insurance quote as money. [Read More]
Tracked on March 12, 2006 11:44 AM
» health insurance illinois from health insurance illinois
health insurance illinois health insurance illinois health insurance company [Read More]
Tracked on March 23, 2006 09:44 PM
» Tamiflu from Tamiflu online
Now the complete site about Tamiflu online is available. [Read More]
Tracked on April 1, 2006 09:17 PM
» adult sex toys from adult sex toys
adult sex toys adult sex toys [Read More]
Tracked on April 17, 2006 11:37 PM
» online payday loans from online payday loans
faxless payday loans is a ConstructiveInformation. [Read More]
Tracked on May 7, 2006 06:36 PM
» Payday Loans from Payday Loans
Payday Loan [Read More]
Tracked on May 15, 2006 04:45 PM
» instant payday loans from instant payday loans
payday loans is a ConstructiveInformation. [Read More]
Tracked on May 19, 2006 03:44 AM
» cash advance from cash advance
instant payday loans is a ConstructiveInformation. [Read More]
Tracked on May 19, 2006 05:50 AM
» Examples of and from Examples of and
Once more personal loans is a goodblogge. [Read More]
Tracked on July 1, 2006 05:41 PM
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)