Lynn Conway

Lynn Ann Conway (January 2, 1938 – June 9, 2024) was an American computer scientist, electrical engineer, inventor, and transgender activist for LGBT rights.

She worked at IBM in the 1960s. She was known for her invention of generalized dynamic instruction handling. She was also widely-known for the Mead & Conway revolution with Carver Mead."Lynn Conway: 2009 Computer Pioneer Award Recipient" , IEEE Computer Society, January 20, 2010., July 30, 2010."Event: IBM ACS System: A Pioneering Supercomputer Project of the 1960s", Computer History Museum, February 18, 2010."Computer History Museum Events: IBM ACS System: A Pioneering Supercomputer Project of the 1960s" , Computer History Museum, February 18, 2010."Historical Reflections: IBM's Single-Processor Supercomputer Efforts – Insights on the pioneering IBM Stretch and ACS projects" by M. Smotherman and D. Spicer, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 53, No. 12, December 2010, pp. 28–30.

Born a male, Conway transitioned into a woman. After IBM found out about this, she was fired in 1968. In 2020, IBM apologized for firing Conway.

Conway died from a heart disease at her home in Jackson, Michigan, on June 9, 2024, at the age of 86.

References

Category:1938 births
Category:2024 deaths
Category:American computer scientists
Category:Engineers from New York (state)
Category:American LGBT rights activists
Category:Transgender women
Category:LGBT scientists
Category:American inventors
Category:Scientists from New York (state)
Category:People from Mount Vernon, New York
Category:LGBT people from New York (state)
Category:Writers from New York (state)
Category:Academics from Michigan
Category:American LGBT writers
Category:Deaths from cardiovascular disease