I just learned that the IBM 701, the first commercially available scientific computer and the first massed-produced mainframe in the 50s, was codeveloped by an American computing pioneer of Syrian-Lebanese origin, Jerrier Haddad. Jerrier goes by “Jerry.” Jerry’s father, Abd Al-Masih Haddad, was from Homs, Syria, and his mother, Rashida Shaker, was from Masser El-Chouf, Lebanon. He received the prestigious IEEE Computer Pioneer award in 1984 along with his colleague Nathaniel Rochester, who was also the creator of the first assembly language. Jerry was also the co-developer of the IBM 604, the world’s first mass-produced programmable calculator. He held 19 patents in the computer space. Jerry passed away at the age of 94.

Jerry Haddad

Links about Jerry: