John Makepeace Bennett
| John Makepeace Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Born |
31 July 1921 Warwick, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 9 December 2010 (aged 89) Sydney, NSW, Australia |
| Residence | Australia, England |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Fields | computer science |
| Institutions | Ferranti, Sydney University |
| Alma mater | University of Queensland, University of Cambridge |
| Notable awards | Officer of the Order of Australia |
Emeritus Professor John Makepeace Bennett AO FTSE (31 July 1921 – 9 December 2010) was an early Australian computer scientist. He was Australia's first professor of computer science and the founding president of the Australian Computer Society. His pioneering career included work on early computers such as EDSAC, Ferranti Mark 1* and SILLIAC, and spreading the word about the use of computers through computing courses and computing associations.
John Bennett was born in 1921 at Warwick, Queensland, the son of Albert John Bennett and Elsie Winifred née Bourne.
In 1952 he married Rosalind Mary Elkington (who was also working at Ferranti). They had four children: Chistopher John, Ann Margaret, Susan Elizabeth and Jane Mary.
In 1986 Bennett, aged 65, retired with his wife to Sydney's Northern Beaches. Bennett died at home on 9 December 2010 and was survived by his wife, four children and six grandchildren.
John Bennett was educated at The Southport School. After which, he went to the University of Queensland to study civil engineering.
From 1942 until 1946 (during WWII), he served in the RAAF. He worked on a radar unit on the Wessel Islands and later worked in airfield construction. He then returned to the University of Queensland to study electrical and mechanical engineering and mathematics.
In 1947 he went to Cambridge University to become Maurice Vincent Wilkes' first research assistant as part of the team working to build EDSAC. This was the world's first practical stored program electronic computer, and the world's first computer in regular operation from 1949. He used EDSAC to carry out the first ever structural engineering calculations on a computer as part of his PhD.
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