Computer science pioneer Niklaus Wirth dies aged 89

In a sombre start to the new year, the world of computer science mourns the loss of Niklaus Wirth—a stalwart figure known for his influential contributions to programming languages, methodology, software engineering, and hardware design.

Born on 15 February 1934 in Switzerland, Wirth was a luminary in the field and celebrated for his development of several groundbreaking programming languages including ALGOL W, Pascal, and Modula-2. Wirth died aged 89 on 1 January...

4 January 2024 | Languages

Compiler pioneer and first female Turing winner Frances Allen dies aged 88

Computer scientist Frances Allen, a pioneer of compiling software and the first female Turing award winner, has died at the age of 88.

Allen made vital contributions to compilers – which turn raw code into executable software – along with program optimisation, and parallelisation.

She sadly died of Alzheimer's on her birthday, August 4th.

Allen helped to change the perception of computer science being just a male career. During a time when females in...

10 August 2020 | Developer