Mary Allen Wilkes

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Mary Allen Wilkes
Born September 25, 1937 (1937-09-25)
Fields Programming, Hardware engineering
Institutions MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Washington University in St. Louis
Alma mater Wellesley College
Known for Work with LINC computer

Mary Allen Wilkes (born September 25, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former computer programmer and hardware engineer, most known for her work with the LINC computer. She left computer science and became an attorney.[1] She is a graduate of Wellesley College, class of 1959.[2]

MIT Lincoln Laboratory

Wilkes worked in the MIT Lincoln Laboratory from 1959 to 1963. While there, she simulated the LINC on the TX-2 computer.[1] She also wrote many LINC operating systems and designed the LINC console.[3] During that time, she used a computer in her home, and is usually considered to be the first home computer user (in 1965.) [4] This claim is dependent on the definition of a "home computer."

Washington University

In 1965, Wilkes left MIT and began working at the Computer Systems Laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis. In St. Louis, she designed the multiply macromodule.

Notability

She is noted in the field of Computer Science for:

  • Developing the assembler-linker model used in modern programming compilers.
  • Some consider her to be the first person to use a home computer, which she built.[4][5] Depending on the definition of "home computer", Konrad Zuse is cited as being a home computer user before Wilkes.
  • Conceptualized and implemented the first operating system to sit between a program and the actual computer hardware.[6]

Selected publications

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Biography of Mary Allen Wilkes
  2. ↑ Early Biography from 1970
  3. ↑ LINC History
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The LINC: A Paradigm Shift
  5. ↑ 10th Vintage Computer Festival
  6. ↑


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