Name Andrew Booth Role Engineer | Died November 29, 2009 Education University of London | |
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Books Digital Computers in Action | ||
Andrew donald booth apexc apex c ape c apec all purpose electronic x ray computer
Andrew Donald Booth (11 February 1918 – 29 November 2009) was a British electrical engineer, physicist and computer scientist who was an early developer of the magnetic drum memory for computers and invented Booth's multiplication algorithm.
Booth was raised in Weybridge, Surrey, and educated at the The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School. In 1937, he won a scholarship to read mathematics at Jesus College, Cambridge. Booth left Cambridge without taking a degree, having become disaffected with pure mathematics as a subject. He chose an external degree from the University of London instead, which he obtained with a first.
From 1943 to 1945, Booth worked as a mathematical physicist in the X-ray team at the British Rubber Producers' Research Association (BRPRA), Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, gaining his PhD in crystallography from Birmingham University in 1944. In 1945, he moved to Birkbeck College, University of London, where his work in the crystallography group led him to build some of the first electronic computers in the United Kingdom including the All Purpose Electronic Computer, first installed at the British Rayon Research Association. Booth founded Birkbeck's department of numerical automation and was recently named a fellow at the university. He also did early pioneering work in machine translation.
Booth married computer engineer Kathleen H. V. Britten; during 1947–1953 they produced three computing machines together.
Booth served as President of Lakehead University from 1972–1978.