With the help of technology developed by brilliant programmers, the world we live in today is limitless. Programming has traditionally been a very solitary activity. Some of the most hard-working and influential people are programmers, and it is unfortunate that programmers rarely receive recognition for their contributions. Despite the fact that everyone uses software products and platforms, programmers are rarely in the public spotlight in the same way that well-known celebrities are. Occasionally, some really brilliant minds receive recognition for their work and for changing the course of history as we know it.1 

This article explores some of the most talented programmers around the world who helped change the tech landscape, as well as the famous programmers who reshaped our society.

Ada Lovelace: The First Ever Computer Programmer!

Ada Lovelace

It was more than a century before the computer was invented that Lovelace wrote her first program. She wrote it after Charles Babbage invented a calculating machine called the Difference Engine. She then released a piece of work demonstrating how the engine could be used to resolve challenging mathematical calculations. This was the beginning of programming, and the rest is history.

One of the greatest pioneer programmers in history, Ada Lovelace’s accomplishments establish her as a leading figure. Ada Lovelace Day was established in her honor as a way to celebrate women’s contributions in STEM fields. Furthermore, Ada, a language developed by the Department of Defense in her honor.

Ada Lovelace is a true inspiration for programmers because she possessed the creativity and logic that are necessary to be exceptional programmers. She also exemplifies the need for more women in computer science.2 

Dennis Ritchie: Inventor of the C Programming Language and Co-creator of Unix

Dennis Ritchie

The digital era is said to have been shaped and invented by the computer scientist Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie. In addition to influencing the majority of contemporary programming languages, he developed the most popular C programming language, which is used today in many software applications, embedded system development, and operating systems.

The UNIX operating system was also co-developed by Dennis. For his efforts, he was given the Turing Award by the ACM in 1983, the Hamming Medal by the IEEE in 1990, and the National Medal of Technology by President Clinton in 1999. When he retired in 2007, he was the director of the Lucent Technologies System Software Research Department. On October 12, 2011, he passed away, leading to the release of the Fedora 16 Linux distribution in his honor.3

Linus Torvalds: Creator of Linux & Git

Linus Torvalds

Software engineer Linus Benedict Torvalds developed the Linux kernel operating system in his dorm at the University of Helsinki, where he also served as its founder and coordinator. He also developed the widely used distributed control system known as Git (Open Source). 

Torvalds received the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Pioneer Award in 1998. In 1999, MIT Technology Review TR100 named him “one of the top 100 innovators under the age of 35” in the world. In 2000, the British Computer Society awarded him the Lovelace Medal, and, in 2012, he was given the Millennium Technology Prize.4

Turing, Alan: Inventor of the First Modern Computer, Decoder of the Enigma Cipher Machine, and Detailer of the Turing Test

Alan Turing

One of the most important individuals in computer science, Alan Turing is also regarded as one of the most creative thinkers of the 20th century. His designs for Universal Turing Machines, the very first modern computers, are probably Alan’s greatest contribution to society. These machines could be programmed to perform any task. In the 1950s, businesses quickly realized the benefits of this and began shaping our future. You likely know how Alan Turing helped crack the Enigma code, if not, read more about Alan Turing’s role in breaking the Enigma code here. The number of Enigma messages cracked by Turing’s machines was 84,000 per month, which played a crucial role in bringing the Second World War to an end and helping the Allies win the war.

Along with these achievements, Alan Turing was a pioneer in artificial intelligence. During his lifetime, Turing theorized that the cerebral cortex was similar to an “unorganized machine.” In his opinion, learning makes unorganization more orderly and consistent, which lead him to develop the Turing test, a procedure which determines whether a computer can learn.2 

Tim Berners-Lee: Creator of the World Wide Web

Tim Berners-Lee

Also known as “TimBL,” he is a computer scientist popularly known for three fundamental technologies: HTML, URL, and HTTP. He was responsible for both the introduction of the World Wide Web in 1989 and the first successful Hypertext Transfer Protocol client-to-server Internet communication. He has received numerous honors for his outstanding work and is one of the five pioneers of the Internet and Web to receive the first Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. In recognition of creating the World Wide Web, he was given the 2016 ACM Turing Award. Lee holds the Founders Chair at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, is the director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and is a senior researcher.2 

Those are essentially the most well-known computer programmers in the world who altered the course of human history. If these influential programmers have inspired you or if you want to learn more about coding, visit BYJU’s FutureSchool Blog, where you can find tons of amazing articles on coding.

References:

  1. 7 most influential computer programmers of all time | TechGig. (n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2022, from https://content.techgig.com/technology/7-most-influential-computer-programmers-of-all-time/articleshow/75979589.cms
  2. Famous Programmers That Changed History | thecodebytes. (n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2022, from https://thecodebytes.com/famous-programmers/
  3. 12 Greatest Programmers of all Time – Arkhitech. (n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2022, from https://www.arkhitech.com/blog/12-greatest-programmers-of-all-time/#comment-4
  4. Top Programmers in the World of All Time – GeeksforGeeks. (n.d.). Retrieved July 6, 2022, from https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/top-programmers-in-the-world-of-all-time/
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