Daniel D. McCracken (July 23, 1930 – July 30, 2011) was a
computer scientist in the United States. He was a professor of Computer Sciences at the
City College of New York, and the author of over two dozen textbooks on
computer programming
Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as anal ...
, with an emphasis on guides to programming in widely used languages such as
Fortran and
COBOL. His ''A Guide to Fortran Programming'' (Wiley, 1961) and its successors were the standard textbooks on that language for over two decades. His books have been translated into fourteen languages.
Career
McCracken was born in 1930 in
Hughesville, Judith Basin County, Montana, a mining town, and graduated in 1951 from
Central Washington University
Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Lif ...
with degrees in mathematics and chemistry.
He worked seven years with the
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...
Company in computer applications and programmer training. After that, he worked at the
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
Atomic Energy Commission Computer Center, and was a graduate student at the
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (commonly known as Courant or CIMS) is the mathematics research school of New York University (NYU), and is among the most prestigious mathematics schools and mathematical sciences research cente ...
. In 1959 he became a consultant and continued writing on computer subjects. In 1970 he earned a
Master of Divinity degree from the
Union Theological Seminary in New York.
From 1976 to 1978, he was vice president of the
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), from 1978 to 1980 he was president of the ACM, and in 1994 he was inducted as an
ACM Fellow
ACM or A.C.M. may refer to:
Aviation
* AGM-129 ACM, 1990–2012 USAF cruise missile
* Air chief marshal
* Air combat manoeuvring or dogfighting
* Air cycle machine
* Arica Airport (Colombia) (IATA: ACM), in Arica, Amazonas, Colombia
Computing
* ...
. He served as ACM's representative to the Board of Directors of the Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) and was inducted to its hall of fame as an
ICCP Fellow in 1998.
He joined the
City College of New York Computer Sciences Department in 1981. In 1989 he received the
from
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) was a global organization promoting the responsible use of computer technology. CPSR was incorporated in 1983 following discussions and organizing that began in 1981. It educated policymakers ...
.
Death
McCracken died of cancer a week after his 81st birthday on July 30, 2011, in New York City. He was survived by his second wife, Helen Blumenthal, seven children, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Evelyn Edwards, three brothers and two sisters.
[Swalec, Andrea]
"Washington Heights Computer Science Expert Dies"
, ''DNAinfo'', August 1, 2011.
Books
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References
External links
"Daniel McCracken, Interview by Arthur L. Norberg, January 7-9, 2008" Association for Computing Machinery historical interview.
Dan McCracken's webpage at City College of New YorkDaniel D. McCracken Papers, 1958-1983 Charles Babbage Institute
The IT History Society (ITHS) is an organization that supports the history and scholarship of information technology by encouraging, fostering, and facilitating archival and historical research. Formerly known as the Charles Babbage Foundation, ...
, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
"Obituary: Daniel D. McCracken" ''The New York Times'', August 1, 2011
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McCracken, Daniel D.
1930 births
2011 deaths
People from Judith Basin County, Montana
Central Washington University alumni
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences alumni
Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni
American computer scientists
City College of New York faculty
General Electric people
American computer programmers
Computer science writers
Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery
Presidents of the Association for Computing Machinery
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Computer science educators