Daniel D. McCracken

Daniel D. McCracken
Born	July 23, 1930 Hughesville, Judith Basin County, Montana, USA
Died	July 30, 2011(2011-07-30) (aged 81) New York City, USA
Nationality	USA
Alma mater	Central Washington University (B.S., Mathematics and Chemistry, 1951). Union Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1970)
Occupation(s)	professor, author, and computer scientist
Known for	Computer pioneer, computer programmer, computer scientist, and author of computer programming books

Daniel D. McCracken (July 23, 1930 – July 30, 2011) was a computer scientist in the United States. He was a Professor of Computer Sciences at the City College of New York, and the author of over two dozen textbooks on computer programming. His A Guide to Fortran Programming (Wiley, 1961) and its successors were the standard textbooks on that language for over two decades. His books have been translated into fourteen languages.

Career

McCracken was born in 1930 in Hughesville, Judith Basin County, Montana, a mining town, and graduated in 1951 from Central Washington University with degrees in mathematics and chemistry. He worked seven years with the General Electric Company in computer applications and programmer training. After that, he worked at the New York University Atomic Energy Commission Computer Center, and was a graduate student at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. In 1959 he became a consultant and continued writing on computer subjects. In 1970 he earned a Master of Divinity degree from the Union Theological Seminary in New York.

From 1976-78, he was vice president of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), from 1978-80 he was president of the ACM, and in 1994 he was inducted as a Fellow of ACM.

He joined the City College of New York Computer Sciences Department in 1981. In 1989 he received the Norbert Weiner Award for Social and Professional Responsibility from Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility and is an honorary member of the Golden Key International Honour Society.

Death

McCracken died of cancer a week after his 81st birthday on July 30, 2011 in New York City. He was survived by his second wife, Helen Blumenthal, seven children, nine grandchildren, and two great-grand children. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Evelyn Edwards, three brothers and two sisters.

Books

• McCracken, Daniel D. (1957). Digital Computer Programming (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1959). Programming Business Computers (1 ed.). Wiley. ISBN B000MFMTLG. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1961). A Guide to Fortran Programming (1 ed.). Wiley. ISBN B0000EGLDD. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1962). A Guide to Algol Programming (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1962). A Guide to IBM 1401 Programming (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1963). A Guide to Cobol Programming (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1963). Introduction to Electronic Computing (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1964). Numerical Methods and Fortran Programming (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1965). A Programmer’s Introduction to the IBM System/360 Architecture, Instructions, and Assembler Language (1 ed.). IBM. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1966). A Guide to Fortran IV Programming (1 ed.). Wiley. ISBN B000GSBIIE. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1967). Fortran with Engineering Applications (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1970). A Guide to Cobol Programming (2 ed.). Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-58244-1. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1972). To Love or to Perish: The Technological Crisis and the Churches. J. Edward Carothers, Margaret Mead, Roger L. Shinn (eds.) (1 ed.). Friendship Press.
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1972). Numerical Methods with Fortran IV Case Studies (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1974). A Simplified Guide to Fortran Programming (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1976). A Simplified Guide to Structured Cobol Programming (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1976). Introductory Finite Mathematics with Computing (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1978). A Guide to PL/M for Microcomputer Applications (1 ed.). Addison-Wesley. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1981). A Guide to Nomad for Applications Development (1 ed.). Addison-Wesley. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1984). Computing for Engineers and Scientists with Fortran 77 (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1986). A Second Course in Computer Science with Pascal (1 ed.). Wiley. ISBN B001NBX18S. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1987). A Second Course in Computer Science with Modula-2 [data structures] (1 ed.). Wiley. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1988). Computing for Engineers and Scientists with Fortran 77 (2 ed.). Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-62552-0. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1990). Simplified Structured Cobol with Microsoft/MicroFocus Cobol (1 ed.). Wiley. ISBN 978-0-471-51407-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (1992). Learning GEL By Example (1 ed.). Gain Technology. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• McCracken, Daniel D. (2003). User-Centered Website Development: A Human-Computer Interaction Approach (1 ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-041161-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

• "Daniel McCracken, Interview by Arthur L. Norberg, January 7-9, 2008", Association for Computing Machinery historical interview.
• Dan McCracken's webpage at City College of New York
• Daniel D. McCracken Papers, 1958-1983. Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
• "Obituary: Daniel D. McCracken", The New York Times, August 1, 2011
• Daniel D. McCracken publications indexed by Microsoft Academic