Daniel D. McCracken (July 23, 1930 – July 30, 2011) was a

computer scientist A computer scientist is a scientist who specializes in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation. Although computer scientists can also focus their work and research on ...

in the United States. He was a professor of Computer Sciences at the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

, and the author of over two dozen textbooks on

computer programming Computer programming or coding is the composition of sequences of instructions, called computer program, programs, that computers can follow to perform tasks. It involves designing and implementing algorithms, step-by-step specifications of proc ...

, with an emphasis on guides to programming in widely used languages such as Fortran and

COBOL COBOL (; an acronym for "common business-oriented language") is a compiled English-like computer programming language designed for business use. It is an imperative, procedural, and, since 2002, object-oriented language. COBOL is primarily ...

. 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 with degrees in mathematics and chemistry. He worked seven years with the

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

Company in computer applications and programmer training. After that, he worked at the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Atomic Energy Commission Computer Center, and was a graduate student at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. In 1959 he became a consultant and continued writing on computer subjects. In 1970 he earned a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree from the Union Theological Seminary in New York. From 1976 to 1978, he was vice president of the

Association for Computing Machinery The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional membe ...

(ACM), from 1978 to 1980 he was president of the ACM, and in 1994 he was inducted as an ACM Fellow. 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

Computer Sciences Department in 1981. In 1989 he received the Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility from Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility.

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"

historical interview.
Dan McCracken's webpage at City College of New York

Daniel 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 * {{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 alumni American computer scientists City College of New York faculty General Electric people American computer programmers Computer science writers 1994 fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery Presidents of the Association for Computing Machinery Deaths from cancer in New York (state) American computer science educators