These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. In 2009, Margaret Hamilton and fellow MIT software engineers described what is was like to contribute to the Apollo missions 40 years after the famous Apollo 11 landing in the Moon's Sea of Tranquility in July 1969. Hamilton left MIT in the mid-1970s to work in the private sector. She cofounded the company Higher Order Software in 1976 and established Hamilton Technologies 10 years later. In March 1986, she founded Hamilton Technologies, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. CAPE ISLAND Tour boat operators sometimes entertained their passengers by referring to Cape Island as "Witch's Island." That's because the primary resident there, during summers from 1961 to 1985, was Margaret Hamilton, the actor who played the Wicked Witch of the West and Elmira Gulch in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.. For her work during this period, Hamilton has been credited with popularizing the concept of software engineering. Though only in her early '30s, the gloriously unpretty Hamilton subsequently . 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. The crowning mission, Apollo 11 in July 1969, saw Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descend all the way to the surface in the lunar module, safely return to the command module (piloted by Mike Collins) and make it home to Earth. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Anthony Oettinger,[53] Barry Boehm,[citation needed] and Hamilton have been credited with naming the discipline of "software engineering". Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Phil Davis However, once there, she preferred to accept work at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), as a software developer. five.[28]. [4][5] The family later moved to Michigan,[6] where Margaret graduated from Hancock High School in 1954. She notably wrote software for a program to identify enemy aircraft. In 2017, she was one of a handful of Nasa women to be immortalised as a Lego figurine .On the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, Hamilton, 82, looks back on her trailblazing work in. As a girl, Hamilton loved math and science. Margaret Heafield Hamilton was born on August 17, 1936, in Paoli, Indiana. They're clapping at hearing the sound again.[11]. A kindergarten teacher in her native Cleveland, Margaret Hamilton began her acting career there in community theatre and with the prestigious Cleveland Playhouse. She graduated from Hancock High School and studied at the University . Hamilton and Ray Bolger were cast members in the 1966 fantasy film The Daydreamer, a collection of stories by Hans Christian Andersen. 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. [16] A Republican, she supported the campaign of Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election. The content of the programs was printed on continuous paper and stored in large folders. We have a full Biography, Photos, Theatre Credits, and more! She loved and doted upon children all her life. [17], It was her efforts on this project that made her a candidate for the position at NASA as the lead developer for Apollo flight software. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. She spent 11 days in hospital and her legs were permanently scarred. Credit: Deansfa Marriage and family of Margaret Hamilton She is a member of famous Actress with the age 83 years old group. Play Girl. Margaret Heafield Hamilton is an American computer scientist, systems engineer, and business owner. "The NASA Heritage of Creativity." 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. Looking back, we were the luckiest people in the world; there was no choice but to be pioneers.. It even printed out its answers in Latin and Greek. Early life [ edit] !' 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 If the computer hadn't recognized this problem and taken recovery action, I doubt if Apollo 11 would have been the successful moon landing it was. Hamilton has a diverse background, including an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Earlham College in Indiana, and postgraduate work in meteorology at MIT. When I was the beginner they gave it to me as well. And there's always a funny reaction, like 'Ye gods, they wish they hadn't asked.' Margaret Hamilton Computer Scientist MIT Computer scientist Margaret Hamilton poses with the Apollo guidance software she and her team developed at MIT. Corrections? [23] This included error detection and recovery software such as restarts and the Display Interface Routines (also known as the Priority Displays), which Hamilton designed and developed. Her father, Thomas Storey, was the founder of the Stanford University School of Health. [16] Hamilton also served as Director of the Software Engineering Division. ", Hamilton later left MIT to start her own software company, but her name is still most recognized for her lunar landing accomplishments. Margaret Hamilton, the actress whose role as the cackling Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz unnerved generations of children, died yesterday, apparently of a heart attack, at a nursing home in Salisbury, Connecticut. In 1973, Hamilton produced the stage production of An Evening with the Bourgeoisie. After graduation she married her first husband, James Cox Hamilton, and . She soon transferred, however, to Earlham College in Indiana where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, with a minor in philosophy. In 1965 Margaret was named responsible for the development of the flight software for the computers that would go on board the Apollo spacecraft. Dishonored Lady. [10] She also made personal appearances, and Hamilton described the children's usual reaction to her portrayal of the Witch: Almost always they want me to laugh like the Witch. During the 1960s and 1970s, Hamilton appeared regularly on television. A former schoolteacher, she worked as a character actor in films for seven years before she was offered the role that defined her public image. 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. DAAAE30-02-D-1020 and DAAB07-98-D-H502/0180, Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, 20032004. [7] Studio executives cut some of Hamilton's more frightening scenes, worrying they would frighten children too much. Social Media Lead: She subsequently developed Alzheimer's disease and died in her sleep following a heart attack on May 16, 1985 in Salisbury, Connecticut at the age of 82. In later years, Hamilton made frequent . New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. ], She married Paul Boynton Meserve on June 13, 1931, and made her debut on the New York City stage the following year. 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. She portrayed the sister of Witchiepoo from H.R. and they continued. Margaret H. Hamilton is a computer scientist who was instrumental to NASA's efforts to land humans on the moon in the 1960s and 1970s. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. [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)". Margaret Hamilton was born December 9, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Jennie (Adams) and Walter Hamilton. Margaret Elaine Hamilton (born Heafield on August 17, 1936) is an American computer scientist, systems engineer, and business owner. In 1954, she graduated from Thomas Hancock High School in Minnesota. [1], On November 22, 2016, Hamilton received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from president Barack Obama for her work leading to the development of on-board flight software for NASA's Apollo Moon missions. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 9 December. She later attended Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and practiced acting doing children's theater while a Junior League of Cleveland member. I was the first one to get it to work. She is one of the people credited with coining the term "software engineering". The on-board flight software captured these alarms with the "never supposed to happen displays" interrupting the astronauts with priority alarm displays. August 17, 2016. Design & Development: NY 10036. She subsequently directed and supervised the developments of the Skylab space station mission. "Margaret Hamilton, 82, Dies; Played Wicked Witch In 'Oz', "Ah, The Songs of Long Ago! At the time, computer science and software engineering were not yet established disciplines; instead, programmers learned on the job with hands-on experience. This system played a crucial role just before the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. ..and your little dog, too!" The woman behind of cinema's most iconic villains, Cleveland-born Margaret . She played Morticia Addams' mother, Hester Frump, in three episodes of The Addams Family. She knew everything about these vital programs. [3], Hamilton made her screen debut in the MGM film Another Language (1933) starring Helen Hayes and Robert Montgomery. "All of a sudden, the normal mission sequences were interrupted by priority displays of 1201 and 1202 alarms, giving the astronauts a go/no-go decision (to land or not to land)," she added. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller? For other people named Margaret Hamilton, see. Until the day she died, she had children recognizing her and coming up to her to ask why she was so mean to Dorothy. [66], She met her first husband, James Cox Hamilton,[80] in the mid-1950s while attending college. She went on to appear in These Three (1936), Saratoga, You Only Live Once, When's Your Birthday?, Nothing Sacred (all 1937), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), My Little Chickadee (with W. C. Fields, 1940), and The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (with Harold Lloyd, 1947). 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. A century earlier, she had a worthy British predecessor named Ada Lovelace. Hamilton also toured in many plays and musicals, even repeating her role of the Wicked Witch in specially written stage productions of The Wizard of Oz. Having started on the stage in the early 1930s, she began to work extensively in the theater after leaving Los Angeles. Moore Boeck. Apollo 9 tested out the lunar module and command module together in Earth orbit for the first time, and then the two spacecraft were tested again in lunar orbit for Apollo 10. Margaret Brainard Hamilton (December 9, 1902 - May 16, 1985) was an American movie actress. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. In 1945, she played the domineering sister of Oz co-star Jack Haley in George White's Scandals, comically trying to prevent him from marrying actress Joan Davis, even going so far as to throw a hatchet at her. The award included $37,200, the largest amount awarded to any individual in NASA's history. Hamilton's line from The Wizard of Oz "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" American software engineer and businesswoman, American computer programmer, businessman, and philanthropist. [24] She worked to gain hands-on experience during a time when computer science courses were uncommon and software engineering courses did not exist. Three minutes before the lunar lander reached the Moon's surface, several computer alarms were triggered. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. [50], Hamilton was the CEO of HOS through 1984[20] and left the company in 1985. She was director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, which developed on-board flight software for NASA 's Apollo program. "Deeply Integrated Guidance Navigation Unit (DI-GNU) Common Software Architecture Principles". By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science since 2015. Biography of Margaret Hamilton, American scientist, notable computer scientist who worked at NASA in support of Apollo missions. In later years, Hamilton appeared in films and made frequent cameo appearances on television sitcoms and commercials. Hamilton had prepared for just this situation years before: There was one other failsafe that Hamilton likes to remember. 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. She also wrote a program for the Cambridge Air Force Research Laboratory. This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 16:40. As she grew, she quickly developed a passion for mathematics and decided to work in this domain. Margaret Dawn Hamilton AM (23 June 1941 - 24 November 2022) [1] was an Australian children's literature publisher who served as the National President of the Children's Book Council of Australia from 1991 to 1992 and as a National Board Member until April 2017 when she formally retired. It meant that if Aldrin, say, hit a button on the priority display too quickly, he might still get a "normal" response. and he said 'Maggie, they want you to play a part on the Wizard.' In 1954, she graduated from Thomas Hancock High School in Minnesota. Thompson, Arthur A.; Strickland, A. J., (1996), "Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases", Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 16:40, Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, "001: A Full Life Cycle Systems Engineering and Software Development Environment", Universal Systems Language for Preventative Systems Engineering, A Formal Universal Systems Semantics for SysML, Universal Systems Language: Lessons Learned from Apollo, "President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom", "Former Earlham Student Had Role in Moon Flight", "2009 Outstanding Alumni and Distinguished Service Awards", "The Woman Who Taught Me Margaret Hamilton MAKERS Moment", "Margaret Hamilton: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Took Us to the Moon", "The statistical prediction of solutions of dynamic equations", "AGC Conference 1: Margaret Hamilton's introduction", "Scene at MIT: Margaret Hamilton's Apollo code", "NASA Engineers and Scientists-Transforming Dreams Into Reality", The History of Apollo On-board Guidance, Navigation, and Control, Keyboard and Display Program and Operation, "Moon landing memories:'Apollo 11 changed civilisation and I had a part in it', "Tales from the Lunar Module Guidance Computer", "Computer Got Loaded, letter to the editor of Datamation", Higher Order Software Evaluation and Critique, "Federal User Offers Free CAD/CAM Software", "And/Or Programs: A New Approach to Structured Programming", "Overview of Hamilton Technologies, Inc. (HTI) 001", "ICSE 2018 Plenary Sessions Margaret Hamilton", "What to Know About the Scientist who Invented the Term "Software Engineering", "NASA Engineers and Scientists Transforming Dreams Into Reality", "Margaret Hamilton: 2017 Fellow Biography", "Margaret Hamilton, the Engineer Who Took the Apollo to the Moon", "Her code got humans on the moon and invented software itself", "Software and a Woman at the Heart of Lunar Triumph", "A moonlit tribute to a moon landing icon", "Honour for software writer on Apollo moon mission", "White House honors two of tech's female pioneers", "Margaret Hamilton Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom", "The 2017 Fellow Award Acceptance Speech", "Lego's 'Women of NASA' toy set is finally on sale and it's already Amazon's best-selling toy", "Investiture of scientist Margaret Hamilton as an honorary doctor of the UPC", "Margaret Hamilton Accepts 2019 Washington Award Nomination", "Bard College - 2019 Honorary Degree Recipients", "Margaret Hamilton's sister shares her memories as Seattle's seniors celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing", "James Cox Hamilton, at 77; lawyer was quiet warrior for First Amendment", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Margaret_Hamilton_(software_engineer)&oldid=1141753509. She was director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, which developed on-board flight software for NASA 's Apollo program. Margaret Hamilton's net worth Dedication and commitment were a given. By some accounts, the astronauts had inadvertently left the rendezvous radar switch on, causing these alarms to be triggered (the claim that the radar was left on inadvertently by the astronauts is disputed by Robert Wills with the National Museum of Computing[29]). A few months after filming Oz, she appeared in Babes in Arms (1939) as Jeff Steele's aunt, Martha, a society do-gooder who made it her goal to send the gang of child actors, led by Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, to a work farm. The Directors verdict reached Neil on the radio: GO, Go ahead, free. With the error addressed, the lunar landings for Apollos 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 were made possible. Margaret Hamilton Biography Margaret Hamilton was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 9, 1902, the youngest of four children and obtained her teaching certificate in 1923 from the Wheelock . Computer scientist Margaret Hamilton poses for a series of photos with the Apollo guidance software she and her team developed at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory.