Computer language pioneer Niklaus Wirth is well-known to anyone who has studied even the basics of computer programming and technology. His contributions to the field of computer language development--in particular, the creation of the programming language PASCAL--have played an important role in shaping the arts of computer design and programming.

Wirth was born on February 15, 1934 in Winterthur, Switzerland, to Walter, a geography professor, and Hedwig (Keller) Wirth. He attended the Federal Institute of Technology (known by the initials ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1958. Moving to Canada, he continued his education with a Master of Science degree in 1960 from Laval University in Quebec. Moving once again, this time to California, he received his doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley in 1963. At the time Wirth received his Ph.D. from Berkeley, nearby Stanford University was assembling its Computer Science Department, and Wirth was offered...