Aiken, Howard H. (Howard Hathaway), 1900-1973

Howard H. Aiken, applied mathematician and computer scientist, was born on March 8, 1900 in Hoboken, New Jersey. He received his B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1923. After working as an electrical engineer, Aiken studied physics at the University of Chicago from 1931-1932. He then entered Harvard, receiving his S.M. in 1937 and his Harvard Ph.D. in 1939. Aiken served as Instructor in Physics and Communication Engineering from 1937-1939, as Faculty Instructor in Physics from 1939-1941, as Associate Professor in Applied Mathematics from 1941-1945, as Professor of Applied Mathematics from 1946-1961, and as Director of the Computational Laboratory from 1946-1961. He is best known for designing an electromechanical machine for performing mathematical operations known as the Harvard Mark I computer, which was completed in 1944. Aiken retired from Harvard in 1961, and died on March 14, 1973, while traveling in St. Louis, Missouri.

Aiken taught physics and communication engineering, and applied mathematics at Harvard,