On August 17, 1936, Margaret Hamilton (ne Heafield) was born to Kenneth Heafield and Ruth Esther Heafield in Paoli, Indiana. NASA Science Social Media Consolidation FAQ, Questions and Answers for SMD Bridge Program Workshop Organizing Committee, Biological and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee, PI Launchpad: Developing Your First Flight Mission Proposal, PI Launchpad: Pre-application Information Session, Questions and Answers about the PI Launchpad 2021 Virtual Workshop, Questions and Answers about the PI Launchpad 2023 In-Person Workshop, Science Mission Directorate PI Launchpad Workshop, Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP), Ocean Community Engagement and Awareness using NASA Earth Observations and Science for Hispanic/Latino students, Best Practices for Establishing Part-Time/Time-Limited Supervisory Opportunities, Science Career Opportunities Planning and Exploration Workshop. [54][55][56] Hamilton details how she came to make up the term "software engineering": When I first came up with the term, no one had heard of it before, at least in our world. A century earlier, she had a worthy British predecessor named Ada Lovelace. She cofounded the company Higher Order Software in 1976 and established Hamilton Technologies 10 years later. August 17, 2016. Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". What I do?!!! We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 9 December. As Neil Armstrong was already preparing to bring the ship down, the computer started displaying two errors: error 1201 and error 1202. "[64][65], In 2019, to celebrate 50 years to the Apollo landing, Google decided to make a tribute to Hamilton. Margaret H. Hamilton is a computer scientist who was instrumental to NASA's efforts to land humans on the moon in the 1960s and 1970s. [14] The SAGE Project was an extension of Project Whirlwind, started by MIT to create a computer system that could predict weather systems and track their movements using simulators. In 1939, Hamilton played the role of the Wicked Witch of the West, opposite Judy Garland's Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, creating not only her most famous role, but also one of the screen's most memorable villains. With only minutes to spare, the decision was made to go for the landing.". Hamilton was initially hired as a programmer for this process but moved on into systems design. Even adolescents. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. "The award included the largest financial award that NASA had ever presented to any individual up to that point. Margaret Heafield Hamilton was born on August 17, 1936, in Paoli, Indiana. She is one of the people credited with coining the term "software engineering". Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In 1954, she graduated from Thomas Hancock High School in Minnesota. Margaret Hamilton. The computer was overloaded with interrupts caused by incorrectly phased power supplied to the lander's rendezvous radar. Margaret Hamilton, ne Margaret Heafield, (born August 17, 1936, Paoli, Indiana, U.S.), American computer scientist who was one of the first computer software programmers; she created the term software engineer to describe her work. Biography of Margaret Hamilton, American Computer Scientist, Biography of Elizabeth Barrett, British poet, Biography of Ursula von der Leyen, German politician, Biography of Isabel Zendal, Spanish nurse, Biography of Sheila Herrero, Spanish athlete, Biography of Genoveva Torres, Spanish religious. and he said, 'What else? JWST finds galaxies that shouldn't exist! They were married on June 15, 1958, the summer after she graduated from Earlham. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-Hamilton-American-computer-scientist, Space.com - Margaret H. Hamilton: Apollo Computer Programmer, Wired - Her Code Got Humans on the Moon - And Invented Software Itself, Margaret Hamilton - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Margaret Hamilton - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), National Aeronautics and Space Administration. UConnToday, 23 April 2013. She later attended Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and practiced acting doing children's theater while a Junior League of Cleveland member. Journey for Margaret. 1. While a decision was made in the moment to let the astronauts land, Hamilton pointed out that a fault analysis was done to see where the error was made. There was no second chance. In this famous MIT lab, her team developed the navigation software for the Apollo Space Program. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. [59] Over time the term "software engineering" gained the same respect as any other technical discipline. Hamilton led the software engineering division at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Instrumentation Laboratory. According to Wired's Karen Tegan Padir: "She, along with that other early programming pioneer, COBOL inventor Grace Hopper, also deserve tremendous credit for helping to open the door for more women to enter and succeed in STEM fields like software. One of the many contributors to this effort was Margaret Hamilton, a computer scientist who led the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, which in 1961 contracted with NASA to develop the Apollo program's guidance system. In the early 1970s, she joined the cast of another CBS soap opera, As the World Turns, on which she played Miss Peterson, Simon Gilbey's assistant. For this Laboratory, she developed codes for new programming routines. By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science since 2015. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Updates? Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. This overloaded the central processing unit during the landing, but fortunately, the software recovered in the heated moments before Apollo 11 touched down. [22][16] Another part of her team designed and developed the systems software. And I asked him what part, and he said, 'The Witch,' and I said, 'The Witch?!' [13] Hamilton continued acting regularly until 1982; her last roles were two guest appearances as veteran journalist Thea Taft (in 1979 and 1982) on Lou Grant. Required fields are marked *. Hamilton was concerned with legitimizing software development as an engineering discipline. It was a memorable day when one of the most respected hardware gurus explained to everyone in a meeting that he agreed with me that the process of building software should also be considered an engineering discipline, just like with hardware. We knew that. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [3], Hamilton made her screen debut in the MGM film Another Language (1933) starring Helen Hayes and Robert Montgomery. Play Girl. Margaret Elaine Hamilton (born Heafield on August 17, 1936) is an American computer scientist, systems engineer, and business owner. Her other mid-1970s stage productions, as the producer, were The Three Sisters and House Party.[where? in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and (soon) a Bachelor of History from Athabasca University. In 1986 Margaret founded the company Hamilton Technologies in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Starred in the live on-stage musical "A Little Night Music" (with actress Jean Simmons in the lead role) during the mid-1970s in San Francisco. Margaret Hamilton was born December 9, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Jennie (Adams) and Walter Hamilton. Credit: Courtesy MIT Museum Margaret Hamilton's Apollo Code A brief history of the famous 1969 photo of the software that sent humans to the Moon. In the 1940s and 1950s, Hamilton had a long-running role on the radio series Ethel and Albert (or The Couple Next Door) in which she played the lovable, scattered Aunt Eva (name later changed to Aunt Effie). This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Margaret Hamilton was born on August 17, 1936. From my own perspective, the software experience itself (designing it, developing it, evolving it, watching it perform and learning from it for future systems) was at least as exciting as the events surrounding the mission. Hamilton made her debut as a "professional entertainer" on December 9, 1929, in a "program of 'heart rending songs'" in the Charles S. Brooks Theater at the Cleveland Play House. Hamilton and Ray Bolger were cast members in the 1966 fantasy film The Daydreamer, a collection of stories by Hans Christian Andersen. She subsequently developed Alzheimer's disease and died in her sleep following a heart attack on May 16, 1985 in Salisbury, Connecticut at the age of 82. In later years, Hamilton appeared in films and made frequent cameo appearances on television sitcoms and commercials. During one interview, she joked: I was in need of money at the time, I had done about six pictures for MGM at the time, and my agent called. For her last stage role, she was cast as Madame Armfeldt in the Stephen Sondheim musical A Little Night Music, singing the song "Liaisons" for the national tour costarring with Jean Simmons as her daughter Desiree. ", Hamilton later left MIT to start her own software company, but her name is still most recognized for her lunar landing accomplishments. So, how much is Margaret Hamilton worth at the age of 83 years old? The original caption, she says, reads: Here, Margaret is shown standing beside listings of the software developed by her and the team she was in charge of, the LM [lunar module] and CM [command module] on-board flight software team.. She coined the term software engineer because she felt that the work she and her team were doing was just as important and just as much engineering as the other work on the Apollo spacecraft. was ranked 99th in the 2005 American Film Institute survey of the most memorable movie quotes. It was intended to guide the spacecraft once they had achieved Earth orbit. "From my own perspective, the software experience itself (designing it, developing it, evolving it, watching it perform and learning from it for future systems) was at least as exciting as the events surrounding the mission," she said. Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 360-361. Margaret Dawn Hamilton AM (23 June 1941 - 24 November 2022) [1] was an Australian children's literature publisher who served as the National President of the Children's Book Council of Australia from 1991 to 1992 and as a National Board Member until April 2017 when she formally retired. Anthony Oettinger,[53] Barry Boehm,[citation needed] and Hamilton have been credited with naming the discipline of "software engineering". Hat, Coat and Glove. The solution came from a young Margaret who assured the Mission Director that she could safely ignore the two error messages. Looking back, we were the luckiest people in the world; there was no choice but to be pioneers. [4] However, in mid-1959, Hamilton began working for Edward Norton Lorenz, in the meteorology department at MIT. It is possible to find relevant details of the biography of this extraordinary pioneer on many websites. Principal Investigator, Magnetometer Instrument, Cassini Mission, This site is maintained by the Planetary Science Communications team at. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". A few years later, they were reunited on Broadway for the short-lived musical Come Summer. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2018-2023, All Rights Reserved Super Stars Bio. Snyder, Lawrence and Henry, Ray Laura, "Fluency7 with Information Technology", Pearson, M. Hamilton, S. Zeldin (1976) "Higher order softwareA methodology for defining software". "Deeply Integrated Guidance Navigation Unit (DI-GNU) Common Software Architecture Principles". Margaret Brainard Hamilton (December 9, 1902 - May 16, 1985) was an American movie actress. and they continued. A brief history of the famous 1969 photo of the software that sent humans to the Moon. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller? The character is considered to be one of the screen's greatest and most memorable villains of all time. "Margaret Hamilton, 82, Dies; Played Wicked Witch In 'Oz', "Ah, The Songs of Long Ago! Mutual respect was across the board. Among them, there were 6 in which the man stepped on the floor of the Moon. ], She married Paul Boynton Meserve on June 13, 1931, and made her debut on the New York City stage the following year. When she reprised her role as the Wicked Witch in a 1976 episode of Sesame Street, "the show's producers were flooded with letters from parents saying it was too frightening for children. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. After only one crewed mission in Earth orbit Apollo 7 in early 1968 NASA elected to send Apollo 8's command module solo that December on an orbital mission to the moon, out of concerns that the Soviet Union would get there first. Looking back, we were the luckiest people in the world; there was no choice but to be pioneers.. Margaret Brainard Hamilton (December 9, 1902 - May 16, 1985) was an American actress and educator. Margaret Hamilton was born in 1936 in the United States. New York, And there's always a funny reaction, like 'Ye gods, they wish they hadn't asked.' Danko made the fiery entrance to Munchkinland, not Hamilton. "All of a sudden, the normal mission sequences were interrupted by priority displays of 1201 and 1202 alarms, giving the astronauts a go/no-go decision (to land or not to land)," she added. From 1961 to 1963, she worked at MIT on an unknown aircraft trajectory tracking project. The picture made a terrible impression of some kind on them, sometimes a ghastly impression, but most of them got over it, I guess because when I talk like the Witch, and when I laugh, there is a hesitation and then they clap. Because software was a mystery, a black box, upper management gave us total freedom and trust. She appeared regularly in supporting roles in films until the early 1950s and sporadically thereafter. On April 28, 2017, she received the Computer History Museum Fellow Award, which honors exceptional men and women whose computing ideas have changed the world. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". When she was 80 years old, on November 22, 2016, Margaret Hamilton received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented by the President of the United States, Barack Obama, for her work at NASA during the Apollo missions. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Margaret Hamilton (December 9, 1902 - May 16, 1985) was an American film actress known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. Mention the name Margaret Hamilton to a Millennial, and chances are they won't be able to pick her out of a line-up. They're really scared for a second. Garland visited Hamilton while the latter recuperated at home looking after her son. When I was the beginner they gave it to me as well. Margaret Hamilton was born December 9, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Jennie (Adams) and Walter Hamilton. margaret-hamilton-bio-wiki-age-family-net-worth-height-nationality-and-facts.html. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. [4] She studied mathematics at the University of Michigan in 1955 before transferring to Earlham College, where her mother was a student;[7][8] she earned a BA in mathematics with a minor in philosophy in 1958. Apollo 9 tested out the lunar module and command module together in Earth orbit for the first time, and then the two spacecraft were tested again in lunar orbit for Apollo 10. Four years later, she obtained the Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics at Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana (USA). We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. We took our work seriously, many of us beginning this journey while still in our 20s. Hamilton had prepared for just this situation years before: There was one other failsafe that Hamilton likes to remember. In 1973, Hamilton produced the stage production of An Evening with the Bourgeoisie. Hamilton, now an independent computer scientist, described for MIT News in 2009 her contributions to the Apollo software which last month was added in its entirety to the code-sharing site GitHub: From my own perspective, the software experience itself (designing it, developing it, evolving it, watching it perform and learning from it for future systems) was at least as exciting as the events surrounding the mission. We had to find a way and we did. "From 'Kiddie Lit' to Children's Literature: The Biography of Francelia Butler." She is best known for playing the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz.In movies, she often played older, unmarried women from New England who was extremely practical but did not enjoy jokes. [13][14][15] Her work contributed to Lorenz's publications on chaos theory. Devising, writing, testing, and testing these routines was quite commendable. Margaret Hamilton Biography Margaret Hamilton was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 9, 1902, the youngest of four children and obtained her teaching certificate in 1923 from the Wheelock . We took our work seriously, many of us beginning this journey while still in our 20s.