Commentators link Hamilton's death to history of sexism in computing
5 Oct 8 12:22 PM · 5d ago · 23 articles · 29 posts · 10 comments · 6 sources · development 5 of 7
A widely shared Mastodon post argued that women were pushed out of programming once men recognized its importance, using Hamilton's death as an occasion to revisit that history.
“It wasn't remotely because men were better than women at programming. It was because, as soon as men realized how important programming was, they bullied and intimidated women out of the profession.”
gerrymcgovernMargaret Hamilton Computer scientist, led Apollo flight software teamOlivier de Weck MIT Apollo Program Professor, interim head of AeroAstro
Barack Obama Former U.S. PresidentLauren Hamilton's daughter
The whole story articlesvideospostscomments the bright band is this development · numbered dots are the others · click one to jump
Reported in the same hours no headline names this development itself — these 3 claims were published in its stretch
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first by Smithsonian, 5d ago · also Ars Science, Ars Technica, Boston Globe, Smithsonian Magazine
3 more headlines
- RIP Margaret Hamilton, whose code saved the Apollo 11 Moon landing Ars Science · 5d ago
- R.I.P. Margaret Hamilton, whose code saved the Apollo 11 Moon landing Mastodon · 5d ago
- Margaret Hamilton, pioneering programmer whose software rescued the first moon landing, dies at 90 Boston Globe · 5d ago
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first by The Register, 5d ago · also The Washington Post
1 more headline
- Margaret Hamilton dies at 90. Her programming helped astronauts reach the moon. The Washington Post · 5d ago
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first by kare11.com, 5d ago · also 9News
What people said 21 voices · best of 25 · verbatim
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On the day that Margaret Hamilton, whose software helped land Apollo 11 on the Moon, died at 90, it's worth noting why computer programming became so dominated by men. It wasn't remotely because men were better than women at programming. It was because, as soon as men realized how important programming was, they bullied and intimidated women out…
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Margaret Hamilton, a computer scientist who helped NASA land on the moon, has died. She was 90.
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There are clearly differences between software and actual engineering in todays society. If you actually believe this, you do not know what engineering is. First, for most actual engineering disciplines, you tend to need a formal engineering education where as for software you don't. This is a blatant lie. You will find self-trained people in all…
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It's not just "can these organizations produce brilliant output?" but "can they produce quality output?" I think you can take a lot of pride in doing ordinary things properly and giving people good experiences.I stayed at a major chain hotel this weekend and it was a fine stay, the staff was great, but... there were just numerous little tech…
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RIP to Margaret Hamilton. Her picture hangs out in our storage media demo box, so we can talk to students about getting to the moon on 1/6000000th the RAM of their iPhone. https://www. nytimes.com/2026/10/07/obituar ies/margaret-hamilton-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HFE.bx1O.RusUdZLMA7_k
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R.I.P. Margaret Hamilton, the visionary mathematician and computer scientist whose software helped guide Apollo astronauts to the Moon. A pioneer who helped create the field of software engineering, her impact on science and space exploration will never be forgotten.
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One of the most known people out of the Apollo project. What are you one bro? We learnt about her in the middle east as well
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If anyone wants to get a deeper understanding of the Apollo Guidance Computer I can recommend the book "Digital Apollo" by David A. Mindell. It puts the AGC into the context of the fly-by-wire efforts that started with airplanes and moved on to spacecraft.The book "The Apollo Guidance Computer: Architecture and Operation" by Frank O'Brien is also…
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# MargaretHamilton , # software pioneer who helped put humans on the Moon, dies at 90 Her team's code kept # NASA 's # Apollo11 's landing on course when guidance computer became overloaded She worked on other projects at # MIT , including # aerospace systems, before hearing of Apollo missions in 1965. She immediately applied to join the team…
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Sorry to hear about the death of Margaret Hamilton (1936~2026) at the age of 90. She coined the term "software engineering" & developed the guidance computer for the Apollo moon missions. Condolences to her loved ones: family, friends, & colleagues. May light perpetual shine upon her.
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Core rope memory is one of the most batshit things to ever exist. Literally weaving a computer program into wire.
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Yeah, something like the Apollo project has an exciting and profound enough destination/vision that it acts like a forcing function that herds all the cats.The thing I've taken away most from my multidecade career is that the hardest part is getting any group of people all marching in the same direction, of their own volition. Everyone's…
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RE: https:// mastodon.social/@arstechnica/1 17407129021068409 Software programming pioneer Margaret Hamilton has passed away at the age of 90. NASA’s first hired programmer, lead programmer for the Apollo missions, who managed the entire programming operation which grew to about 100 people. The Apollo missions encountered how many software bugs?…
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I think projects like Apollo are important in a way that they let extraordinary people to use their capabilities.I feel from personal experiences as well as from many close people that often the corporate world really struggles on dealing with talent. And I don't mean autistic savants doing obscure things but relatively normal but very competent…
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“Margaret Hamilton was a trailblazer in her field, leading the team who developed the software for Nasa’s Apollo missions, which coined the term “software engineering”.” “Margaret Hamilton, whose software helped land Apollo 11 on the moon, dies at 90” - https://www. bbc.com/news/articles/cx5yn46j 41zpo
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Also the name of the actress who played Wicked Witch of the West in Wizard of Oz, who died in 1985.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Hamilton_(actress)I am pleased to have now learned more about the Margaret Hamilton of "software engineering."
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Margaret Hamilton, the programmer who saved Apollo 11 with code that still makes modern engineers weep quietly into their energy drinks. # Apollo11 # SoftwareEngineering # MargretHamilton # SpaceHistory # WomenInTech https://www. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx5yn4 6j41zpo
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Thanks for sharing this story from this point of view so genuinely. I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would enjoy any comments under this sad news.
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This photo has always been etched into my brain. RIP Margaret Hamilton https:// news.mit.edu/2026/margaret-ham ilton-computing-pioneer-dies-1007
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Adieu Margaret. 🕯 https:// news.mit.edu/2026/margaret-ham ilton-computing-pioneer-dies-1007 # MargaretHamilton # mathmatics # computing
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https://www. bbc.com/news/articles/cx5yn46j 41zpo Margaret Hamilton, whose software helped land Apollo 11 on the Moon, dies at 90
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