Sir Maurice Wilkes, The Father Of Computing, Dies

Sir Maurice Wilkes, a leading light in the early days of computing, has died aged 97.

Wilkes’ work was as important to the development of modern computing as his contemporary Alan Turing but his name was not as well known outside the computing sphere.

Sir Maurice Wilkes’ Achievements

During the war, he worked on radar, but quickly saw the potential of programmable computer systems like those developed at Bletchley Park during the conflict.

His main contribution was the development of the first practical computer that could store a program. Called the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC), the computer used mercury delay lines for memory and vacuum tubes (valves) for logic processing.

In modern terms, it was a 1KB memory 17-bit computer and it was first switched on in 1949 at Cambridge University where it was conceived and built. Almost as soon as it was completed, it was used by various researchers at the university.

Two years later, he developed a system for microprogramming when he discovered that a central processor could be controlled by a specialised program rather than being controlled by fixed circuitry. This microcoding has been the basis of CPUs to this day and has greatly facilitated processor development.

Wilkes helped lay the foundations in many areas of computing. He is especially credited with developing the concepts of using symbolic labels, macros, and subroutine libraries. All fundamental to today’s IT work.

Apart from his knighthood in 2000, Wilkes was honoured by his peers and he held  a distinguished fellowship from the British Computer Society (BCS), was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. On the international stage, he was a Foreign Associate of both the US National Academy of Engineering and the US National Academy of Sciences.

As a founder member and first president of the BCS, he oversaw the bridging of the gap between computer engineering and the techniques of computer use.

His contribution to the IT industry was beyond measure. He died on November 29, 2010.