Introduction to this web version of Computer Pioneers
"Original Introduction" from the underlying book, taken from this PDF:
The history of computing is founded on people. While one can create a chronological history of the field based on the artifacts and concepts that provided the stepping stones from the first
simple counting tables to modern (super) computers, behind every intellectual concept there is a person, and from that person we can learn special personal lessons.
From our experience in editing the Annals of the History of Computing, many of the manuscripts submitted for consideration lack two most important elements—a review of the environment in which an artifact or concept is born, and the downstream impact of the introduction of that artifact or concept in the field of computing and computation.
One significant element of the environment in which computational elements are created is the people who inhabit the field. This book looks at those pioneers, their qualifications, their activities, and the recognition accorded them by our industry.