Allan Bromley (historian)
| Allan George Bromley | |
|---|---|
Allan G. Bromley.
|
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| Born |
1 February 1947 New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 16 August 2002 (aged 55) New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Fields | History of computing |
| Institutions | University of Sydney; Science Museum, London |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney |
| Known for | Understanding of Charles Babbage's calculating engines. |
Allan George Bromley (1 February 1947 – 16 August 2002) was an Australian historian of computing who became a world authority on many aspects of early computing and was one of the most avid collectors of mechanical calculators.
The work on understanding Charles Babbage's calculating engines is Allan Bromley's greatest legacy. The October–December 2000 issue of the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing was dedicated to him for the quality of his research on this subject. His studies of the Antikythera mechanism, in collaboration with Michael T. Wright, led to the first working model of this ancient analogue computer.
Allan Bromley was an associate professor at the University of Sydney. His main academic interest was the history of computers. He died of Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Allan George Bromley was born on 1 February 1947 and named after his uncle Allan, who was killed in New Guinea during World War II, and his father George, who died on 8 August 1962. He grew up on a 30-acre property at Freeman's Reach, on the Hawkesbury River, New South Wales, Australia, in an historic home, "Sunny Corner". He completed his schooling at Richmond High School and at 17 his academic ability earned him a scholarship and a place to study science at the University of Sydney in 1964. He was awarded the Nuclear Research Foundation Medal, University of Sydney, Summer Science School, 1963.
Allan graduated with first class honours in physics in 1967, stayed on for a research degree in astrophysics, and was awarded his PhD in 1971. His doctoral work on maser emission from interstellar gas clouds required extensive computation with high-order polynomials, and awakened his interest in computing.
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