Margaret Hamilton famously poses with her code that took man to the moon. (NASA)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Margaret Hamilton died Sept. 30, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The trailblazing pioneer played a crucial role in the development of flight software for NASA's Apollo Program, which was responsible for taking humans to the moon for the first time.
Hamilton's legacy
The backstory:
Hamilton was an integral part of NASA's Apollo program, which landed human beings on the moon for the first time in 1969. Hamilton was a computer scientist who led the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, which contracted with NASA to develop the Apollo program's computers onboard flight software, according to NASA.
Hamilton initially joined MIT in 1959 as a weather prediction software writer. She then joined Project Apollo and by 1968, she was the assistant director in charge of the Command and Service Module team.
Because of her work on the Apollo program during this time, Hamilton is credited with kickstarting the concept of software engineering and coining the term, which is so widespread and referenced today.
Hamilton has published over 130 publications and eventually became a successful computing entrepreneur and CEO, according to MIT News.
President Barack Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Margaret H. Hamilton. (Photo by Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images) ((Photo by Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
She received many accolades, awards, honors, and recognition for her life's work. One of the most prominent awards Hamilton received was the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Hamilton was given the medal by President Barack Obama in 2016.
Obama said at the time, "Hamilton defined new forms of software engineering and helped launch an industry that would forever change human history. Her software architecture led to giant leaps for humankind, writing the code that helped America set foot on the moon."
She also was granted the NASA Exceptional Space Act Award for her scientific and technical contributions.
Hamilton's Midwest roots
Local perspective:
Hamilton has connections throughout the Midwest. She was born in Paoli, Indiana, in 1936. Her family then moved to Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Hamilton graduated from Hancock High School.
Hamilton then attended the University of Michigan before transferring to Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, about an hour east of Indianapolis, right on the Indiana-Ohio border.
She earned a BA in mathematics with a minor in philosophy in 1958 before moving to Boston in 1959, where she soon found her footing at MIT.
Remembering Hamilton
What they're saying:
Hamilton is survived by her family, daughter Lauren Hamilton, son-in-law Richard Selesnick, two grandsons, four great-grandchildren and her siblings John, David and Kathryn.
"To say Margaret Hamilton was a pioneer — to say she was ahead of her time — would be a dramatic understatement. She was a software engineer at a time when that field was in its infancy, and she not only developed advanced code herself but also led a team in using that nascent technology to develop one of the most complex systems humanity had ever achieved," Olivier de Weck, the Apollo Program Professor and interim head of the MIT Department Aeronautics and Astronautics told MIT News.
"Margaret Hamilton has been an inspiration to generations of computer scientists and engineers. Hers was a career dedicated to preventing errors and what she called ‘handling the unknown,’" says de Weck. "She personified leadership by example, and established a practice of software engineering based on problem-solving and systems engineering that we all benefit from."
The Source: Information for this article comes from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), NASA, as well as a Legacy.com obituary notice. This story was written from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, by Maureen Breslin.