Jean E. Sammet
Jean E. Sammet | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 March 1928 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | 20 May 2017 (aged 89) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
| Occupation | Computer scientist |
| Known for | Creating the FORMAC programming language; key role in development of COBOL; first female ACM president |
Jean E. Sammet (March 23, 1928 – May 20, 2017) was a pioneering American computer scientist recognized for creating the FORMAC programming language in 1962 and playing a key role in the development of the groundbreaking COBOL language.
She completed her undergraduate studies with a B.A. in mathematics at Mount Holyoke College in 1948 and earned an M.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1949. Later, Mount Holyoke awarded her an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1978.
Sammet’s professional career began at Sperry Gyroscope (1955–1958), where she managed the company’s first scientific programming team. Between 1958 and 1961, she worked as a programming research consultant at Sylvania, contributing as a member of the original COBOL development team. In 1961, she joined IBM, where she developed FORMAC—the first extensively adopted language designed for symbolic mathematical computation. Her research at IBM also included exploring restricted English for programming purposes and applying natural language techniques to mathematical software. She held leadership roles such as Programming Technology Planning Manager from 1968 to 1974 and later served as Software Technology Manager beginning in 1979.
In 1965, Sammet established the ACM Special Interest Committee on Symbolic and Algebraic Manipulation (SICSAM) and chaired SIGPLAN. Notably, she became the first woman to serve as ACM president, holding office from 1974 to 1976.
Early life
Born on March 23, 1928, in New York City to attorneys Harry and Ruth Sammet, Jean E. Sammet attended public schools throughout Manhattan. Due to gender-based restrictions preventing her admission to Bronx High School of Science, she enrolled at Julia Richman High School instead.
Opting for Mount Holyoke College because of its reputable mathematics program, she majored in mathematics with a minor in political science and obtained certification to teach high school mathematics. Afterward, she pursued graduate studies at the University of Illinois, receiving her M.A. in 1949 while serving as a teaching assistant during her doctoral work. Her initial encounter with computers in 1949 left her unimpressed, perceiving them as bulky machines.
By 1951, after unsuccessful attempts to secure teaching positions in New York City and challenges with certification in New Jersey, Sammet redirected her career path toward other professional opportunities.
Work
In 1951, Sammet began working at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company as a trainee actuary, gaining experience with punched card accounting machines. Following this training period, she left to pursue doctoral studies at Columbia University and worked as a teaching assistant at Barnard College between 1952 and 1953; however, she soon determined that academia was not her preferred field.
From 1953 until 1958, she served as a mathematician at Sperry Gyroscope, where her responsibilities included mathematical analysis and analog computing projects for clients such as the Department of the Navy’s submarine program. In 1955, she transitioned into programming by developing the basic loader program for Sperry’s digital computer project SPEEDAC.
She led an “open shop” programming team dedicated to supporting engineers with system software tailored to scientific and engineering calculations. After Sperry Gyroscope merged with Remington Rand to form Sperry Rand in 1955, Sammet gained hands-on experience with the UNIVAC I computer and worked alongside computing pioneer Grace Hopper.
In 1956, despite limited resources, Sammet taught one of the earliest graduate-level programming courses at Adelphi College.
Seeking an organization focused on computing innovation, she moved to Sylvania Electric Products in Massachusetts to manage software development for the MOBIDIC project under Carl Hammer’s direction.
In 1959, together with five other programmers, Sammet co-designed much of the influential COBOL language during an intensive two-week proposal phase that was subsequently approved by Sylvania’s U.S. government clients.
Her authoritative 1969 publication Programming Languages: History and Fundamentals examined over 120 programming languages active within the United States at that time, showcasing her deep understanding of software development evolution.
In 1982, Sammet mentored Ben Shneiderman during his sabbatical at IBM’s Federal Systems Division, underscoring her continued influence and leadership within the computing community.
Association with ACM
During the mid-1960s, specifically around 1965 or 1966, Sammet identified a critical need for professionals involved in programming languages and software to share knowledge. While working on FORMAC, she was already an ACM member but became more engaged when she sought to establish a special interest group to facilitate collaboration among peers in her domain. Initial attempts to connect with the leadership of ACM's Special Interest Groups proved challenging until she contacted George Forsythe, who served as ACM president from 1964 to 1966. He appointed her as Chairperson of the Special Interest Committee on Symbolic and Algebraic Manipulation.[1]
To promote SICSAM, Sammet reached out to experts at institutions such as Bell Labs, Carnegie Mellon University, and IBM. Despite encountering opposition from the ACM numerical analysis community, she remained determined. Approximately five years following SICSAM’s inception, she successfully arranged for a presentation at the SIGNUM conference on mathematical software, even though the group had initially been hesitant. With backing from SICSAM participants, she coordinated the Symposium on Symbolic and Algebraic Manipulation (SYMSAM) held in March 1966.[1]
In June 1966, Tony Oettinger took office as ACM president, and Sammet was elected to serve as Northeast Regional Representative from 1966 through 1968. During this period, she was a member of the ACM Council and acted as an ACM lecturer in 1967, 1968, and 1972. When Bernie Galler assumed the presidency in 1968, Sammet was appointed chair of the ACM Committee overseeing SIGs and SICs.[1]
In 1971, she was chosen as chair of SIGPLAN but stepped down after one year upon her election as ACM vice president in 1972. While leading SIGPLAN, she organized joint conferences with other Special Interest Groups, acknowledging programming languages’ pivotal role in various computing disciplines.[1]
Sammet held the position of ACM vice president from June 1972 until June 1974. Collaborating closely with president Tony Ralston during a financially precarious time for ACM, she focused efforts on restoring fiscal stability. She also convinced Ralston to conduct a member-office forum before their annual meeting to improve communication between ACM leadership and its membership.[1]
Death
Sammet passed away on May 20, 2017, in Silver Spring, Maryland, following a brief illness.
Notable publications
- Programming Languages: History and Fundamentals (Prentice-Hall, 1969)
- "Programming Languages: History and Future," Communications of the ACM, July 1972
- Detailed Description of COBOL, 1960
Honors and awards
- 1975: Honorary Membership in UPE (International Honor Society for Computing and Information Sciences)
- 1989: Augusta Ada Lovelace Award from the Association for Women in Computing
- 1994: Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery
- 1997: Distinguished Service Award from SIGPLAN (shared with J.A.N. Lee)
- 2001: Computer History Museum Fellow recognizing contributions to programming languages
- 2009: Computer Pioneer Award from IEEE Computer Society
- 2013: NCWIT Pioneer Award
See also
External links
- Jean Sammet – California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
- Biography of Jean Sammet – History of Programming Languages website at Murdoch University; archives housed at Charles Babbage Institute
- Transcript of Sammet’s participation in UNIVAC conference, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota; oral history with computing pioneers including Sammet
- Biography of Jean Sammet – Computer History Museum
- In Memoriam: Jean E. Sammet 1928-2017