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. Looking back, we were the luckiest people in the world; there was no choice but to be pioneers.. 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. Until the day she died, she had children recognizing her and coming up to her to ask why she was so mean to Dorothy. By 1968, she was in charge of all Command Module software, which was all the software for navigation and lunar landing guidance. [48] Others have used HOS to formalize the semantics of linguistic quantifiers,[49] and to formalize the design of reliable real-time embedded systems. She subsequently directed and supervised the developments of the Skylab space station mission. We had to find a way and we did. [33] The asynchronous executive designed by J. Halcombe Laning[34][30][35] was used by Hamilton's team to develop asynchronous flight software: Because of the flight software's system-software's error detection and recovery techniques that included its system-wide "kill and recompute" from a "safe place" restart approach to its snapshot and rollback techniques, the Display Interface Routines (AKA the priority displays) together with its man-in-the-loop capabilities were able to be created in order to have the capability to interrupt the astronauts' normal mission displays with priority displays of critical alarms in case of an emergency. Looking back, we were the luckiest people in the world; there was no choice but to be pioneers. [2], Margaret Elaine Heafield was born August 17, 1936, in Paoli, Indiana,[3] to Kenneth Heafield and Ruth Esther Heafield (ne Partington). 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. Quote her most famous line, however, and watch their eyes blink awake with recognition: "I'll get you my pretty! In 1973, Hamilton produced the stage production of An Evening with the Bourgeoisie. This system played a crucial role just before the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 9 December. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". 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. A Slight Case of Murder. Her Gramercy Park neighbor Sybil Daneman reported that Hamilton loved children but they were often afraid to meet her because of her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. 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. Hamilton said: What they used to do when you came into this organization as a beginner, was to assign you this program which nobody was able to ever figure out or get to run. She later founded two software companiesHigher Order Software in 1976 and Hamilton Technologies in 1986, both in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [4][5] The family later moved to Michigan,[6] where Margaret graduated from Hancock High School in 1954. We knew that. 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. This depended on our assigning a unique priority to every process in the software in order to ensure that all of its events would take place in the correct order and at the right time relative to everything else that was going on. 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. [17], Hamilton's early experience as a teacher fueled a lifelong interest in educational issues. They were married on June 15, 1958, the summer after she graduated from Earlham. Her name was clearly visible when the entire Apollo 11 source code was released on GitHub in 2016; according to MIT, the first full line of the software read, "SUBMITTED: MARGARET H. HAMILTON DATE: 28 MAR 69 / M.H.HAMILTON, COLOSSUS PROGRAMMING LEADER / APOLLO GUIDANCE AND NAVIGATION.". "[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. Also learn how She earned most of Margaret Hamilton networth? Corrections? In 2019, she was awarded the Intrepid Lifetime Achievement Award. [18] In 1979, she was a guest speaker at a University of Connecticut children's literature class. Mention the name Margaret Hamilton to a Millennial, and chances are they won't be able to pick her out of a line-up. 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. "Margaret Hamilton, 82, Dies; Played Wicked Witch In 'Oz', "Ah, The Songs of Long Ago! 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. 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. If the latter case, this would be Hamilton's third but uncredited role. It was an ongoing joke for a long time. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. and they continued. Margaret Heafield Hamilton is an American computer scientist, systems engineer, and business owner. Margaret Hamilton was born December 9, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio to Jennie and Walter Hamilton. As Neil Armstrong was already preparing to bring the ship down, the computer started displaying two errors: error 1201 and error 1202. And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com. [19] She later moved to Millbrook, New York. Hamilton was initially hired as a programmer for this process but moved on into systems design. 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.. It then sent out an alarm, which meant to the astronaut, 'I'm overloaded with more tasks than I should be doing at this time and I'm going to keep only the more important tasks'; i.e., the ones needed for landing Actually, the computer was programmed to do more than recognize error conditions. She later attended Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and practiced acting doing children's theater while a Junior League of Cleveland member. Devising, writing, testing, and testing these routines was quite commendable. 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. She knew everything about these vital programs. She strove to work as much as possible to support herself and her son; she never put herself under contract to any one studio and priced her services at $1,000 ($18,800 with inflation[4]) a week.[5]. During the 1960s and 1970s, Hamilton appeared regularly on television. The character is considered to be one of the screen's greatest and most memorable villains of all time. In 2019, she was awarded The Washington Award. At 83 years old, Margaret Hamilton height At MIT she began programming software to predict the weather and did postgraduate work in meteorology. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Margaret Hamilton (December 9, 1902 - May 16, 1985) was an American film actress known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Play Girl. She often remarked about children coming up to her and asking her why she had been so mean to Dorothy. Social Media Lead: Her solution: when you see a priority display, first count to 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. Related: Apollo Coder and 'Apollo 13' Actor Receive Presidential Medals of Freedom, SpaceX scrubs Crew-6 astronaut launch due to ignition-fluid issue, Experience SpaceX's Crew-6 astronaut mission with these amazing photos, DNA from 4 American presidents will launch to deep space, Asteroid Ryugu is rich in organic molecules that can be building blocks of life, On This Day In Space: Feb. 26, 1966: 1st launch of Saturn 1B rocket, Your monthly guide to stargazing & space science, Subscribe today and save an extra 5% with code 'LOVE5', Issues delivered straight to your door or device. Early life [ edit] On December 23, 1938, Hamilton suffered a second-degree burn on her face and a third-degree burn on her hand during a second take of her fiery exit from Munchkinland in which the trap door's drop was delayed to eliminate the brief glimpse of it seen in the final edit. SAGE was soon developed for military use in anti-aircraft air defense. [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. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. So, how much is Margaret Hamilton worth at the age of 83 years old? August 17, 2016. [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. I guess for a minute they get the feeling they got when they watched the picture. five.[28]. In the early 1970s, she joined the cast of another CBS soap opera, As the World Turns, on which she played Miss Peterson, Simon Gilbey's assistant. August 17, 2016. "Deeply Integrated Guidance Navigation Unit (DI-GNU) Common Software Architecture Principles". Margaret Hamilton was born Margaret Heafield on August 17, 1936 in Paoli, Indiana. Margaret Hamilton, ne Margaret Heafield, (born August 17, 1936, Paoli, Indiana, U.S.), American computer scientist who was one of the first computer software programmers; she created the term software engineer to describe her work. Her other mid-1970s stage productions, as the producer, were The Three Sisters and House Party.[where? Besides her work in Apollo, she was part of MIT Lincoln Laboratory's Semi-Automatic Ground Environment Air Defense System, or SAGE. Margaret Hamilton (Margaret Brainard Hamilton) was born on 9 December, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, is an Actress, Soundtrack. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. The solution came from a young Margaret who assured the Mission Director that she could safely ignore the two error messages. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Hamilton led the software engineering division at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Instrumentation Laboratory. By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. 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. In later years, Hamilton made frequent . Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. 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. [1] Her remains were cremated at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, and her ashes were scattered in Amenia, New York.[20]. Margaret Hamilton was born December 9, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Jennie (Adams) and Walter Hamilton. We knew that. 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. 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. Hamilton's line from The Wizard of Oz "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!" Mutual respect was across the board. A complete set of recovery programs was incorporated into the software. She appeared, uncredited, in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's People Will Talk (1951) as Sarah Pickett. A brief history of the famous 1969 photo of the software that sent humans to the Moon. We took our work seriously, many of us beginning this journey while still in our 20s. Played Aunt Eva on the radio series Ethel and Albert in the 1940s and 1950s . Hamilton costarred opposite Buster Keaton and Richard Cromwell in a 1940s spoof of the long-running local melodrama The Drunkard, titled The Villain Still Pursued Her. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". With only minutes to spare, the decision was made to go for the landing.". For her work, she was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. [47] In 1980, British-Israeli computer scientist David Harel published a proposal for a structured programming language derived from HOS from the viewpoint of and/or subgoals. At the time, computer science and software engineering were not yet established disciplines; instead, programmers learned on the job with hands-on experience. Margaret Elaine Hamilton (born Heafield on August 17, 1936) is an American computer scientist, systems engineer, and business owner. Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 1958. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. !' Hamilton was concerned with legitimizing software development as an engineering discipline. New York, We had to find a way and we did. She soon transferred, however, to Earlham College in Indiana where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, with a minor in philosophy. 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. Qualification: BA in Mathematics with a Minor in Philosophy, College: Earlham College, University of Michigan, 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 NASAs Apollo Space Program, James Cox Hamilton; (m. 1958; div. [16] A Republican, she supported the campaign of Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election. Zack, Suzanne. and he said, 'What else? Dedication and commitment were a given. After she recuperated, she said, "I won't sue, because I know how this business works, and I would never work again. A few years later, they were reunited on Broadway for the short-lived musical Come Summer. She became very concerned about the role's effect on children, and finally did a guest spot on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968) to explain that the Witch was just a character in the film, and not herself. 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 . 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 They like to hear it but they 'don't' like to hear it. The mirrors at the Ivanpah plant were configured to create a picture of Hamilton and the Apollo 11 by moonlight. [50], Hamilton was the CEO of HOS through 1984[20] and left the company in 1985. Margaret Hamilton Computer Scientist MIT Computer scientist Margaret Hamilton poses with the Apollo guidance software she and her team developed at MIT. Hamilton had to recuperate in a hospital and at home for six weeks after the accident before returning to the set to complete her work on the film and refused to have anything further to do with fire for the rest of the filming. When she reprised her role as the Wicked Witch in a 1976 episode of Sesame Street, "the show's producers were flooded with letters from parents saying it was too frightening for children. 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. "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," she said. 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. Hamilton, M.; Hackler, W. R. (2004). It is possible to find relevant details of the biography of this extraordinary pioneer on many websites. For her work during this period, Hamilton has been credited with popularizing the concept of software engineering. Byla editelkou oddlen softwarovho inenrstv v MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, kter vyvjela letov software pro Program Apollo.V roce 1986 zaloila spolenost Hamilton Technologies, kter sdl ve mst Cambridge ve stt Massachusetts. Check out Margaret Hamilton's Bio Now Four years later, she obtained the Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics at Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana (USA). Margaret Hamilton (educator) (1871-1969), American educator Margaret Hamilton (actress) (1902-1985), American film character actress Margaret Hamilton (software engineer) (born 1936), American software engineer Margaret Hamilton (publisher) (1941-2022), Australian publisher of children's literature A century earlier, she had a worthy British predecessor named Ada Lovelace. 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. The meaning of those almost mysterious codes was available to very few. Though only in her early '30s, the gloriously unpretty Hamilton subsequently . Dishonored Lady. UConnToday, 23 April 2013. From 1961 to 1963, she worked at MIT on an unknown aircraft trajectory tracking project. Learn How rich is She in this year and how She spends money? Hamilton was the recipient of various honours, including NASAs Exceptional Space Act Award (2003). On August 17, 1936, Margaret Hamilton (ne Heafield) was born to Kenneth Heafield and Ruth Esther Heafield in Paoli, Indiana. 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. 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. [2] Before she turned to acting exclusively, her parents insisted she attend Wheelock College in Boston, which she did, later becoming a kindergarten teacher. Heres how it works. Pufnstuf herself being spoofed by actress Billie Hayes. 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. Profiled in "American Classic Screen Interviews" (Scarecrow Press). Soon after, Neil Armstrong radioed the expected message to Houston: The Eagle has landed, The Eagle has landed. Among them, there were 6 in which the man stepped on the floor of the Moon. is 5'(1.52m) . Having started on the stage in the early 1930s, she began to work extensively in the theater after leaving Los Angeles. And I asked him what part, and he said, 'The Witch,' and I said, 'The Witch?!' Hamilton was a regular parishioner of the Presbyterian church. She appeared in The Phil Silvers Show episode S2E20 Bilko Enters Politics (05 February 1957). Paul Boynton Meserve (13 June1931 - 20 May1938)( divorced)( 1 child). [Related: Apollo Coder and 'Apollo 13' Actor Receive Presidential Medals of Freedom]. Margaret Hamilton was born on August 17, 1936. 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. 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. She was director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, which developed on-board flight software for NASA's Apollo program. 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. "Hamilton contributed to concepts of asynchronous software, priority scheduling and priority displays, and human-in-the-loop decision capability, which set the foundation for modern, ultra-reliable software design and engineering," the citation for her medal read. Mutual respect was across the board. 1967) {Ex-Husband}, Your email address will not be published. [4] However, in mid-1959, Hamilton began working for Edward Norton Lorenz, in the meteorology department at MIT. It meant that if Aldrin, say, hit a button on the priority display too quickly, he might still get a "normal" response. With the error addressed, the lunar landings for Apollos 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 were made possible. Barack Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. They're scared. As a girl, Hamilton loved math and science. Managing Editor: Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Credit: Deansfa Marriage and family of Margaret Hamilton [13][14][15] Her work contributed to Lorenz's publications on chaos theory. She led a team that was tasked with developing the software for the guidance and control systems of the in-flight command and lunar modules of the Apollo missions. [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)". Required fields are marked *. She also published six books. Looking back, we were the luckiest people in the world; there was no choice but to be pioneers. According to MIT, this was the first air defense system for the country and helped to push forward digital computing in the 1950s and 1960s. Margaret Hamilton was born December 9, 1902 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Jennie (Adams) and Walter Hamilton. She notably wrote software for a program to identify enemy aircraft. I said, 'Yes?' She was severely burned during the "Surrender Dorothy!" City Without Men. Hamilton, a 24-year-old with an undergrad degree in mathematics, had gotten a job as a programmer at MIT, and the plan was for her to support her husband through his three-year stint at Harvard. It turned out that the astronaut checklist, which governed the actions the crew had to do before landing, had the crew set the rendezvous radar hardware switch in the wrong position. She appeared on Broadway in the musical Goldilocks opposite Don Ameche and Elaine Stritch, gave a lighter touch to the domineering Parthy Anne Hawks in the 1966 revival of Show Boat (dancing with David Wayne), and was the tender Aunt Eller in the 1968 Lincoln Center revival of Oklahoma!. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). marriedcelebrity; April 19, 2019; Celebrity Gossip; Born as Margaret Heafield, she is an American system engineer, computer scientist and a woman entrepreneur as well.