Margaret Hamilton, Apollo Software Engineer Who Coined 'Software Engineering,' Dies at 90

Hamilton led development of on-board flight software for NASA’s Apollo program in the 1960s. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. The following year, she was immortalized as a LEGO minifig as part of the “Women of NASA” set, which also included astronauts Mae Jemison and Sally Ride.

Olivier de Weck, interim head of the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, said in the report that “to say Margaret Hamilton was a pioneer—to say she was ahead of her time—would be a dramatic understatement.” He added that “she was a software engineer at a time when that field was in its infancy, and she not only developed advanced code herself but also led a team in using that nascent technology to develop one of the most complex systems humanity had ever achieved.” De Weck also said the Apollo program still stands as one of the greatest testaments to collaboration, ingenuity and engineering, and that Hamilton was a fundamental contributor to its success.

Hamilton was born in 1936 in Paoli, Indiana. She graduated from Earlham College in 1958 with a degree in mathematics and a minor in philosophy. According to the report, the philosophy minor was a nod to her father, a poet, and her grandfather, a headmaster.

She married her first husband, James Cox Hamilton, the same year. The plan was for her to work until he finished his law degree, after which he would support her through graduate school to earn a PhD in mathematics.

Editor's Summary

Margaret Hamilton, who coined the term “software engineering” and led development of Apollo on-board flight software, has died at 90. Ars Technica reported that her code saved the Apollo 11 Moon landing, and she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. Her work helped establish software engineering as a field and contributed to one of NASA’s most complex human spaceflight efforts.