Date of Birth | Nationality | Residence | Education | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|
September 9, 1941 | American | Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, USA | Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Computer Scientist |
Dennis Ritchie was an American computer scientist who is best known for developing the C programming language and the UNIX operating system. He was born in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, USA on September 9, 1941.
Ritchie attended Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physics in 1963. He then went on to pursue a master's degree in applied mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which he completed in 1965.
Ritchie began his career at Bell Laboratories, where he worked on the Multics operating system. He then went on to develop the C programming language, which was released in 1972. He also developed the UNIX operating system, which was released in 1973.
Ritchie was a recipient of the Turing Award in 1983, the National Medal of Technology in 1998, and the Japan Prize in 2011. He was also a Fellow of the Computer History Museum and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
Ritchie passed away on October 12, 2011, at the age of 70.
Dennis Ritchie was born on September 9, 1941, in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, USA. He attended Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physics in 1963. He then went on to pursue a master's degree in applied mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which he completed in 1965.
Ritchie began his career at Bell Laboratories, where he worked on the Multics operating system. He then went on to develop the C programming language, which was released in 1972. He also developed the UNIX operating system, which was released in 1973.
Ritchie was a recipient of the Turing Award in 1983, the National Medal of Technology in 1998, and the Japan Prize in 2011. He was also a Fellow of the Computer History Museum and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
Ritchie was a close friend of computer scientist and UNIX co-creator Ken Thompson, with whom he worked closely at Bell Laboratories. He was also a mentor to computer scientist and UNIX contributor Brian Kernighan.
Ritchie was known for his wit and wisdom. He was quoted as saying:
"The only way to learn a new programming language is by writing programs in it."
"The most effective debugging tool is still careful thought, coupled with judiciously placed print statements."
"The most important thing about a program is whether it accomplishes the intention of its user."
Ritchie was criticized for his involvement in the development of the UNIX operating system, which was seen as a commercialization of the open-source Multics operating system.
Ritchie was an avid chess player and was known to play against the computer. He was also an avid reader and enjoyed reading science fiction.
Ritchie was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Computer History Museum. He was also a recipient of the Turing Award, the National Medal of Technology, and the Japan Prize.