This week’s edition of Trivia Challenge focuses on the career of one of the twentieth century’s legendary mainframe trailblazers, Jean Sammet.
Being born a female in 1928 didn’t exactly make for an easy path to an award-winning career in computer technology, but Sammet was one of the women who was destined to beat the odds. As the child of lawyers, she displayed an early enthusiasm for mathematics, but was not allowed to attend the male-only Bronx High School of Science.
Undeterred, Sammet completed a BA in Mathematics from Mount Holyoke College in 1948—and while completing her MA in Mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign she first encountered a computer. Was it love at first sight? Famously, it was not. In fact, Sammet referred to the early marvel of computing technology as “an obscene piece of hardware.”
Nevertheless, her early career at Sperry Gyroscope saw her working as a programmer for the company’s first digital computer—the Sperry Electronic Digital Automatic Computer (SPEEDAC). The rest is history, which you can learn more about by taking our quiz!
Sonja Soderlund is an Oregon-based B2B freelance writer. Whether writing about mainframe computers, educational technology, or sustainable retail, she strives to bring clarity to complex issues. Connect with her at sonjasoderlund.com or LinkedIn.