For Hamilton, although Apollo 11 was monumental, she relished the challenge of doing her job for it. In 1986 Margaret founded the company Hamilton Technologies in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [42][43][44] It was successfully used in numerous government programs[45][46] including a project to formalize and implement C-IDEF, an automated version of IDEF, a modeling language developed by the U.S. Air Force in the Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing (ICAM) project. She soon transferred, however, to Earlham College in Indiana where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, with a minor in philosophy. From 1961 to 1963, Hamilton worked on the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Project at the MIT Lincoln Lab,[14] where she was one of the programmers who wrote software for the prototype AN/FSQ-7 computer (the XD-1), used by the U.S. Air Force to search for possibly unfriendly aircraft. In 2009, she received the Outstanding Alumni Award by. 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. Margaret Hamilton was born December 9, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Jennie (Adams) and Walter Hamilton. That has been my favorite book since I was four.' Half a century ago, MIT played a critical role in the development of the flight software for NASAs Apollo program, which landed humans on the Moon for the first time in 1969. "[13] She appeared as herself in three episodes of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, between 1975 and 1976, because Fred Rogers wanted his viewers to recognize the Wicked Witch was just a character and not something to be afraid of. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. In one of the critical moments of the Apollo 11 mission, the Apollo Guidance Computer, together with the on-board flight software, averted an abort of the landing on the Moon. President Barack Obama presents Apollo code developer Margaret Hamilton (at left) and "Apollo 13" actor Tom Hanks (right) with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Nov. 22, 2016. In Wired magazine, she said in 2015 "I enjoyed school, but there was something about maths that I loved more than anything". Margaret Hamilton was born December 9, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Jennie (Adams) and Walter Hamilton. At the time, no schools taught software engineering, so the team members had to work out any problems on their own. Updates? In 1962, Hamilton played Leora Scofield, a suffragette who arrives in Laramie, Wyoming, to bolster feminist causes in a territory where women had already obtained the right to vote, in the episode "Beyond Justice" of NBC's Laramie. We knew that. "The NASA Heritage of Creativity." She subsequently directed and supervised the developments of the Skylab space station mission. Although Margaret planned to study abstract mathematics at Brandeis University, she accepted a job at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) while her husband attended Harvard Law School. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Margaret Brainard Hamilton (December 9, 1902 May 16, 1985) was an American actress and educator. Hat, Coat and Glove. Hamilton has published more than 130 papers, proceedings, and reports, about sixty projects, and six major programs. 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. 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. According to Hamilton, this now-iconic image (at left, above) was taken at MIT in 1969 by a staff photographer for the Instrumentation Laboratory later named the Draper Laboratory and today an independent organization for use in promotion of the labs work on the Apollo project. Bill Dunford What are the characteristics of the Solar System? 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. Looking back, we were the luckiest people in the world; there was no choice but to be pioneers.. She later attended Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and practiced acting doing children's theater while a Junior League of Cleveland member. Hamilton led the software engineering division at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Instrumentation Laboratory. As Neil Armstrong was already preparing to bring the ship down, the computer started displaying two errors: error 1201 and error 1202. Hamilton's plain looks helped to bring steady work as a character actress. 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. They liked to kid me about my radical ideas. In later years, Hamilton appeared in films and made frequent cameo appearances on television sitcoms and commercials. [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. Looking back, we were the luckiest people in the world; there was no choice but to be pioneers.. A former schoolteacher, she worked as a character actress in films for seven years before she was offered the role that defined her public image. Her most visible appearances during this period were as general store owner, Cora, in a national series of television commercials for Maxwell House coffee. and he said 'Maggie, they want you to play a part on the Wizard.' NY 10036. Margaret Hamilton is an American software engineer and computer scientist best known for leading the team responsible for creating the software for the Apollo moon missions and Skylab space station. She graduated from Hancock High School and studied at the University . Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. This overloaded the central processing unit during the landing, but fortunately, the software recovered in the heated moments before Apollo 11 touched down. She was director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, which developed on-board flight software for NASA 's Apollo program. For ABC's short-lived radio anthology Theatre-Five, she played a manipulative ailing Aunt Lettie to Joan Lorring as the unhappy niece Maude in "Noose of Pearls". However, once there, she preferred to accept work at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), as a software developer. Margaret Hamilton Career Profession: Computer Scientist, Systems Engineer and Business Owner Known For: Director of the "Software Engineering Division" of the "MIT Instrumentation Laboratory", which developed "On-board Flight Software for NASA's Apollo Space Program Debut: Film debut: These Three (1936) Movie poster Net Worth: $12 Million Approx Throughout the 1970s, Hamilton lived in New York City's Gramercy Park neighborhood and appeared on local (and some national) public-service announcements for organizations promoting the welfare of pets. 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. She also gained recognition for her work as an advocate of causes designed to benefit children and animals and retained a lifelong commitment to public education. The character is considered to be one of the screen's greatest and most memorable villains of all time. Margaret Hamilton was born in 1936 in the United States. [50], Hamilton was the CEO of HOS through 1984[20] and left the company in 1985. Required fields are marked *. "From 'Kiddie Lit' to Children's Literature: The Biography of Francelia Butler." This brilliant mathematician, systems engineer, and computational scientist, was Director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory. '[8], Hamilton's stand-in and stunt double for the Witch, Betty Danko, also suffered an on-set accident on February 11, 1939. From 1961 to 1963, she worked at MIT on an unknown aircraft trajectory tracking project. [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. Had one child, son, Hamilton Wadsworth Meserve, on June 12, 1936. What followed next were brief messages from Apollo 11 to Robledo de Chabela in Spain; and from Spain to Houston, where Margaret was; from Houston to Robledo; and from Robledo to Apollo 11. 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. August 17, 2016. 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 programs guidance system. 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. Her son, interviewed for the 2005 DVD edition of the film, commented that Hamilton enjoyed the line so much, she sometimes used it in her real life. In the early 1960s Hamilton joined MITs Lincoln Laboratory, where she was involved in the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) project, the first U.S. air defense system. In 1976, Hamilton co-founded with Saydean Zeldin a company called Higher Order Software (HOS)[40] to further develop ideas about error prevention and fault tolerance emerging from their experience at MIT working on the Apollo program. Half a century ago, MIT played a critical role in the development of the flight software for NASAs Apollo program, which landed humans on the Moon for the first time in 1969. [4], Hamilton then joined the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory at MIT, which worked on the Apollo Space Mission. A brief history of the famous 1969 photo of the software that sent humans to the Moon. Mutual respect was across the board. [37] Jack Garman, a NASA computer engineer in mission control, recognized the meaning of the errors that were presented to the astronauts by the priority displays and shouted, "Go, go!" The meaning of those almost mysterious codes was available to very few. There was no second chance. Her "priority display" innovation had created a knock-on risk that astronaut and computer would slip out of synch just when it mattered most. "[64][65], In 2019, to celebrate 50 years to the Apollo landing, Google decided to make a tribute to Hamilton. She appeared, uncredited, in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's People Will Talk (1951) as Sarah Pickett. Hamilton was initially hired as a programmer for this process but moved on into systems design. ", /system/people/detail_images/320_Margaret_Hamilton.jpg, /system/people/list_images/320_Margaret_Hamilton_320.jpg. 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. was ranked 99th in the 2005 American Film Institute survey of the most memorable movie quotes. Hamilton spent six weeks recovering from the incident and refused to do any more fire-related stunts on the film set. Her crisp voice with rapid but clear enunciation was another trademark. She played Morticia Addams' mother, Hester Frump, in three episodes of The Addams Family. Soon after, Neil Armstrong radioed the expected message to Houston: The Eagle has landed, The Eagle has landed. Margaret Brainard Hamilton (December 9, 1902 - May 16, 1985) was an American actress and educator. She was contributing writer for Space.com (opens in new tab) for 10 years before joining full-time, freelancing since 2012. She later attended Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and practiced acting doing children's theater while a Junior League of Cleveland member. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Contrary to her character, one of the top villains in movie . This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The couple then moved to Boston. MIT Museum: Margaret Hamilton Apollo Photos. She helped write the computer code for the command and lunar modules used on the Apollo missions to the Moon in the late 1960s and early 70s. 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. The contract was awarded just weeks before then-President John F. Kennedy announced that he planned to have humans on the moon by the end of the decade. [20][41] They created a product called USE.IT, based on the HOS methodology they developed at MIT. Four years later, she obtained the Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics at Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana (USA). In reality, she cared deeply about children, frequently giving to charitable organizations. [13][14][15] Her work contributed to Lorenz's publications on chaos theory. UConnToday, 23 April 2013. They're really scared for a second. Biography. A century earlier, she had a worthy British predecessor named Ada Lovelace. The solution came from a young Margaret who assured the Mission Director that she could safely ignore the two error messages. 1967) {Ex-Husband}, Your email address will not be published. In The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976), she portrayed Lynde's housekeeper, reprising the Wicked Witch role, as well as introducing Lynde to the rock group Kiss. [17], Hamilton's early experience as a teacher fueled a lifelong interest in educational issues. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. On weekends, she took her daughter Lauren to the lab to spend time with her, while she worked writing the computer routines that would go on the Apollo command module computer. 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. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". [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. [36], Hamilton's priority alarm displays interrupted the astronauts' normal displays to warn them that there was an emergency "giving the astronauts a go/no go decision (to land or not to land)". They were married on June 15, 1958, the summer after she graduated from Earlham. Opposite Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, she played a heavily made-up witch in Comin' Round the Mountain, where her character and Costello go toe-to-toe with voodoo dolls made of each other. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Margaret Heafield Hamilton (born Heafield on August 17, 1936) is an American computer scientist, systems engineer, and business owner.She is credited with coining the term, "software engineering".Hamilton was Director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, which developed on-board flight software for the Apollo space program.
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