Could you say something about his contributions?
> Perhaps the 2020s will be ready for a measured history of programming without all the Great Men gloating.
Not to say that the history of programming isn't important (if it has any place at all, surely it's here on HN), but I think that there's a lot of other history to purge of the Great Man fallacy before we get to programming. Can I quote Howard Zinn's wonderful "A people's history of the United States"?
> The idea of saviors has been built into the entire culture, beyond politics. We have learned to look to stars, leaders, experts in every field, thus surrendering our own strength, demeaning our own ability, obliterating our own selves.