Insta
Obama Awards Highest Civilian Honour To Woman Who Helped Code Software That Put Man On Moon
Swarajya Staff
Nov 24, 2016, 12:51 PM | Updated 12:49 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
US President Barack Obama awarded presidential medal of freedom, the country’s highest civilian honour to 21 eminent persons from various fields on 22 November. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded to those who have made meritorious contributions “to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
The recipients included scientists, philanthropists, public servants. activists, athletes, and artists. Among the awardees was Margaret H. Hamilton, an 80 year old woman, who led the team that helped code the software for Apollo missions which put man on the moon.
Ms Hamilton’s citation read as follows:
President Obama hailed Hamilton’s achievements and said “she symbolises that generation of unsung women who helped send humankind into space. Her software architecture echoes in countless technologies today, and her example speaks of the American spirit of discovery that exists in every little girl and little boy who know that somehow to look beyond the heavens is to look deep within ourselves and to figure out just what is possible ”
Hamilton was a working mother in the 1960s when she was employed at the MIT labs. A photo of her with the pile of code she helped write had gone viral when internet wasn’t in the vogue and computer science was still in infancy. The complete code was written by hand.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.