Harry Huskey
Encyclopedia
Harry Douglas Huskey is an American
computer designer pioneer.
Huskey was born in the Smoky Mountains region of North Carolina
and grew up in Idaho
. He gained his Master's
and then his PhD
in 1943 from the Ohio State University
on Contributions to the Problem of Geocze. Huskey taught mathematics
at the University of Pennsylvania
and then worked part-time on the early ENIAC
computer in 1945.
He visited the National Physical Laboratory
(NPL) in the United Kingdom
for a year and worked on the Pilot ACE
computer with Alan Turing
and others. He was also involved with the EDVAC
and SEAC
computer projects.
Huskey designed and managed the construction of the Standards Western Automatic Computer (SWAC) at the National Bureau of Standards in Los Angeles
(1949–1953). He also designed the G15 computer for Bendix Aviation Corporation, which could perhaps be considered as the first "personal" computer in the world. He had one at his home that is now in the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington, DC.
After five years at the National Bureau of Standards, Huskey joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley
in 1954 and then University of California, Santa Cruz
from 1966. While at Berkeley, he supervised the research of pioneering programming language designer Niklaus Wirth
, who gained his PhD in 1963. He is now Professor Emeritus at the University of California
, after his retirement at the age of 70 in 1986. In 1994 he was inducted as a Fellow
of the Association for Computing Machinery
.
Huskey married Velma Roeth (died 1991) and had four children. He married Nancy Grindstaff in 1994 and now lives in Santa Cruz
, California
.
Huskey appeared with a junk dealer as the third pair of contestants in an episode of Groucho Marx
's radio show "You Bet Your Life
". He was described as the designer of an "electronic brain". They selected the "state category" and missed the final question when they failed to identify Iowa as the state North of Missouri.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
computer designer pioneer.
Huskey was born in the Smoky Mountains region of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and grew up in Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. He gained his Master's
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
and then his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1943 from the Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
on Contributions to the Problem of Geocze. Huskey taught mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and then worked part-time on the early ENIAC
ENIAC
ENIAC was the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a Turing-complete digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems....
computer in 1945.
He visited the National Physical Laboratory
National Physical Laboratory, UK
The National Physical Laboratory is the national measurement standards laboratory for the United Kingdom, based at Bushy Park in Teddington, London, England. It is the largest applied physics organisation in the UK.-Description:...
(NPL) in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for a year and worked on the Pilot ACE
Pilot ACE
The Pilot ACE was one of the first computers built in the United Kingdom, at the National Physical Laboratory in the early 1950s.It was a preliminary version of the full ACE, which had been designed by Alan Turing. After Turing left NPL , James H...
computer with Alan Turing
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS , was an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of "algorithm" and "computation" with the Turing machine, which played a...
and others. He was also involved with the EDVAC
EDVAC
EDVAC was one of the earliest electronic computers. Unlike its predecessor the ENIAC, it was binary rather than decimal, and was a stored program computer....
and SEAC
SEAC
The term SEAC can stand for:* Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, the senior non-commissioned member of the United States armed forces* South East Asia Command, a World War II Allied military command...
computer projects.
Huskey designed and managed the construction of the Standards Western Automatic Computer (SWAC) at the National Bureau of Standards in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
(1949–1953). He also designed the G15 computer for Bendix Aviation Corporation, which could perhaps be considered as the first "personal" computer in the world. He had one at his home that is now in the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
in Washington, DC.
After five years at the National Bureau of Standards, Huskey joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1954 and then University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
from 1966. While at Berkeley, he supervised the research of pioneering programming language designer Niklaus Wirth
Niklaus Wirth
Niklaus Emil Wirth is a Swiss computer scientist, best known for designing several programming languages, including Pascal, and for pioneering several classic topics in software engineering. In 1984 he won the Turing Award for developing a sequence of innovative computer languages.-Biography:Wirth...
, who gained his PhD in 1963. He is now Professor Emeritus at the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, after his retirement at the age of 70 in 1986. In 1994 he was inducted as a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Association for Computing Machinery
Association for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
.
Huskey married Velma Roeth (died 1991) and had four children. He married Nancy Grindstaff in 1994 and now lives in Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Huskey appeared with a junk dealer as the third pair of contestants in an episode of Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
's radio show "You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio in October 1947, then moved to CBS Radio in September...
". He was described as the designer of an "electronic brain". They selected the "state category" and missed the final question when they failed to identify Iowa as the state North of Missouri.
See also
- Huskey, H. D. Harry D. Huskey: His Story. BookSurge Publishing, 2004. ISBN 1-59457-680-7.
- Huskey, H. D. The ACE Test Assembly, the Pilot ACE, the Big ACE, and the Bendix G15. In Copeland, B. J.Jack CopelandBrian Jack Copeland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.Copeland received a BPhil and DPhil from the University of Oxford in philosophy, where he undertook research on modal and non-classical logic.He is the Director of the Turing Archive for the...
, Alan Turing's Automatic Computing Engine, chapter 13, pages 281–295. Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 2005. ISBN 0-19-856593-3. - Huskey, H. D. The state of the art in electronic digital computing in Britain and the United States (1947). In Copeland, B. J.Jack CopelandBrian Jack Copeland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.Copeland received a BPhil and DPhil from the University of Oxford in philosophy, where he undertook research on modal and non-classical logic.He is the Director of the Turing Archive for the...
, Alan Turing's Automatic Computing Engine, chapter 23, pages 529–540. Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 2005. ISBN 0-19-856593-3.