Howard Hathaway Aiken is considered one of the pioneers of the computer field, being the primary engineer behind IBM's Harvard Mark I computer. He was born on March 9, 1900 in Hoboken, New Jersey and passed away on March 14 1973 in St. Louis, Missouri.

He studied at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and later obtained his Ph.D. in physics at Harvard University in 1939. During this time he encountered differential equations that he could only solve numerically. As such, he envisioned an electro-mechanical computing device that could do much of the tedious work for him. This computer was originally called the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (ASCC) and later renamed Harvard Mark I. With help from Grace Hopper and funding from IBM the machine was completed in 1944. In 1947, Aiken completed his work on the fully electronic Mark II computer. He spent most of his life improving the Mark I and with all of that time he made the Mark II, Mark III, and the Mark IV.

He is also well known for his 1947 comment, "Only six electronic digital computers would be required to satisfy the computing needs of the entire United States."

Aiken was inspired by Charles Babbage's Difference Engine.

External link

• MacTutor biography