27 Jun
2021
27 Jun
'21
11:42 a.m.
Sad computer history note - Larry Breed, one of the original implementors of Iverson
Notation AKA A Programming Language AKA APL passed away last month. Larry went to work at
IBM on the first APL implementation on an IBM 7090 in 1965 as his first job out of
Stanford. My path crossed Larry's not thru APL, but when I was working my first
retirement job at Hassett Hardware in downtown Palo Alto. Larry would come in to buy parts
for his latest Burning Man or community project. He was a delightful person to talk with,
learn something from, and just be around. I'm sorry I did not take the time to talk to
him more about APL when I had the chance.
There's a Wikipedia entry on Larry here
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_M._Breed) and remembrances of him on the
apl.comp.lang mailing list.
God speed Larry and RIP.
Lee Courtney