Peter Naur (October 25, 1928– January 3, 2016)
Danish computer science pioneer who contributed to the development of several programming languages; he was also an advocate for the pursuit of science as a whole.

Screenshot

Edward Yourdon (April 30, 1944 – January 20, 2016)
Pioneering American software engineer and consultant who was one of the first inductees into the Computer Hall of Fame; he also wrote the book 'The Decline and Fall of the American Programmer.'

Screenshot

Ray Tomlinson (April 23, 1941 – March 5, 2016)
American computer programmer who implemented the first email program in 1971; he also came up with the idea of using the @ sign to separate the username from the name of the email provider.

Screenshot

David Brown (October 31, 1923 – April 16, 2016)
American computer scientist and MIT professor who was on the team that created Project Whirlwind, one of the first large-scale, high speed computers.

Screenshot

Science
Adam Dziewonski (November 15, 1936 – March 1, 2016)
Polish geophysicist who did groundbreaking research into the structure of the Earth's interior and the nature of earthquakes.

Screenshot

Peter Propping (December 21, 1942 – April 26, 2016)
German geneticist who did pioneering research on how diseases like manic depression, schizophrenia and epilepsy affect the brain.

Screenshot

André Brahic(November 30, 1942– May 15, 2016)
French astrophysicist who discovered the rings of Neptune in 1984.

Screenshot

Ahmed Zewail (February 26, 1946 – August 2, 2016)
Egyptian-American scientist and father of femtochemistry, the study of short chemical reactions; he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999, becoming the first Egyptian and Arab to win a Nobel in a scientific field.

Screenshot

Observer

Slideshow | List

- / 8

One of the biggest news stories of 2016 was the sheer number of famous people who died this year—from David Bowie and Prince to Alan Rickman and Garry Shandling, it sometimes seemed like social media was in a constant state of mourning.

Several luminaries of the tech and science worlds also passed away in 2016—and while news of their deaths may not have trended on Twitter, their accomplishments are well worth remembering.

Flip through the slides above to meet eight titans of the tech and science industries, and learn about their contributions to the world.

In Memoriam: 8 Tech and Science Titans Who Died in 2016

Peter Naur (October 25, 1928– January 3, 2016)
Danish computer science pioneer who contributed to the development of several programming languages; he was also an advocate for the pursuit of science as a whole.

Edward Yourdon (April 30, 1944 – January 20, 2016)
Pioneering American software engineer and consultant who was one of the first inductees into the Computer Hall of Fame; he also wrote the book 'The Decline and Fall of the American Programmer.'

Ray Tomlinson (April 23, 1941 – March 5, 2016)
American computer programmer who implemented the first email program in 1971; he also came up with the idea of using the @ sign to separate the username from the name of the email provider.

David Brown (October 31, 1923 – April 16, 2016)
American computer scientist and MIT professor who was on the team that created Project Whirlwind, one of the first large-scale, high speed computers.

Science
Adam Dziewonski (November 15, 1936 – March 1, 2016)
Polish geophysicist who did groundbreaking research into the structure of the Earth's interior and the nature of earthquakes.

Peter Propping (December 21, 1942 – April 26, 2016)
German geneticist who did pioneering research on how diseases like manic depression, schizophrenia and epilepsy affect the brain.

André Brahic(November 30, 1942– May 15, 2016)
French astrophysicist who discovered the rings of Neptune in 1984.

Ahmed Zewail (February 26, 1946 – August 2, 2016)
Egyptian-American scientist and father of femtochemistry, the study of short chemical reactions; he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999, becoming the first Egyptian and Arab to win a Nobel in a scientific field.

We noticed you're using an ad blocker.

How Do I Whitelist Observer?

For Adblock:

For Adblock Plus on Google Chrome:

For Adblock Plus on Firefox:

Peter Naur (October 25, 1928– January 3, 2016)Danish computer science pioneer who contributed to the development of several programming languages; he was also an advocate for the pursuit of science as a whole.

Edward Yourdon (April 30, 1944 – January 20, 2016) Pioneering American software engineer and consultant who was one of the first inductees into the Computer Hall of Fame; he also wrote the book 'The Decline and Fall of the American Programmer.'

Ray Tomlinson (April 23, 1941 – March 5, 2016) American computer programmer who implemented the first email program in 1971; he also came up with the idea of using the @ sign to separate the username from the name of the email provider.

David Brown (October 31, 1923 – April 16, 2016) American computer scientist and MIT professor who was on the team that created Project Whirlwind, one of the first large-scale, high speed computers.

Science Adam Dziewonski (November 15, 1936 – March 1, 2016) Polish geophysicist who did groundbreaking research into the structure of the Earth's interior and the nature of earthquakes.

Peter Propping (December 21, 1942 – April 26, 2016) German geneticist who did pioneering research on how diseases like manic depression, schizophrenia and epilepsy affect the brain.

André Brahic(November 30, 1942– May 15, 2016) French astrophysicist who discovered the rings of Neptune in 1984.

Ahmed Zewail (February 26, 1946 – August 2, 2016) Egyptian-American scientist and father of femtochemistry, the study of short chemical reactions; he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999, becoming the first Egyptian and Arab to win a Nobel in a scientific field.

We noticed you're using an ad blocker.

How Do I Whitelist Observer?

For Adblock:

For Adblock Plus on Google Chrome:

For Adblock Plus on Firefox:

Peter Naur (October 25, 1928– January 3, 2016)
Danish computer science pioneer who contributed to the development of several programming languages; he was also an advocate for the pursuit of science as a whole.

Edward Yourdon (April 30, 1944 – January 20, 2016)
Pioneering American software engineer and consultant who was one of the first inductees into the Computer Hall of Fame; he also wrote the book 'The Decline and Fall of the American Programmer.'

Ray Tomlinson (April 23, 1941 – March 5, 2016)
American computer programmer who implemented the first email program in 1971; he also came up with the idea of using the @ sign to separate the username from the name of the email provider.

David Brown (October 31, 1923 – April 16, 2016)
American computer scientist and MIT professor who was on the team that created Project Whirlwind, one of the first large-scale, high speed computers.

Science
Adam Dziewonski (November 15, 1936 – March 1, 2016)
Polish geophysicist who did groundbreaking research into the structure of the Earth's interior and the nature of earthquakes.

Peter Propping (December 21, 1942 – April 26, 2016)
German geneticist who did pioneering research on how diseases like manic depression, schizophrenia and epilepsy affect the brain.

André Brahic(November 30, 1942– May 15, 2016)
French astrophysicist who discovered the rings of Neptune in 1984.

Ahmed Zewail (February 26, 1946 – August 2, 2016)
Egyptian-American scientist and father of femtochemistry, the study of short chemical reactions; he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1999, becoming the first Egyptian and Arab to win a Nobel in a scientific field.