ProofWiki:Mathematicians/Richard Wesley Hamming

American mathematician best known for his work on error-detecting codes.

Thus he started a new field of study within information theory.

Nationality

American

History

• Born: 11 Feb 1915, Chicago, Illinois, USA
• Died: 7 Jan 1998 in Monterey, California, USA

Theorems and Inventions

• Hamming Code
• Hamming Matrix
• Hamming Window
• Hamming Numbers
• Hamming Distance

Books and Papers

• 1942: Some Problems in the Boundary Value Theory of Linear Differential Equations
• 1962: Numerical Methods for Scientists and Engineers
• 1965: Logic By Machine
• 1968: Calculus and the Computer Revolution
• 1971: Introduction to Applied Numerical Analysis
• 1972: Computers and Society
• 1977: Digital Filters
• 1980: Coding and Information Theory
• 1980: The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics
• 1985: Methods of Mathematics Applied to Calculus, Probability, and Statistics
• 1986: You and Your Research
• 1991: The Art of Probability for Scientists and Engineers
• 1997: The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn

Notable Quotes

The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers.

Also see

• John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson: "Richard Wesley Hamming": MacTutor History of Mathematics archive