Claude Shannon
Sciences & Discovery • Historical Archive • 🇺🇸 United States • 16 views

Claude Shannon 🇺🇸

Claude Elwood Shannon (Known as "Father of Information Theory & Digital Circuit Design")
Mathematician, Electrical Engineer, Cryptographer, MIT Professor
Born 30 April 1916 🇺🇸 Petoskey (Michigan), United States
Passed Away 24 February 2001 Medford (Massachusetts), United States
Lifespan 84 years old
16 views
Notice / Correction
"Information is the resolution of uncertainty. I just wondered how things were put together. We know the past but cannot control it; we control the future but cannot know it."

Archival Overview

American mathematician and engineer who unified Boolean algebra with electrical circuits to create digital circuit design, and single-handedly founded mathematical Information Theory and the 'bit'.

Biographical Record

Claude Elwood Shannon (1916–2001) studied electrical engineering and mathematics at Michigan and MIT. In his 1937 master's thesis, Shannon proved that electrical switches and relays could solve any Boolean algebra logic expression, inaugurating digital circuit design.

In 1948 at Bell Labs, Shannon published his magnum opus, 'A Mathematical Theory of Communication'. In this single paper, Shannon founded information theory, introduced the 'bit' (binary digit), defined informational entropy, and proved fundamental limits on data compression and noisy channel capacity. The entire global internet and digital universe rests upon Shannon's mathematics.

Key Life Milestones

10 August 1937 CE

Master's Thesis on Digital Circuit Logic

Proved electromechanical switches evaluate Boolean algebra, creating the design basis for all digital electronic circuits.

July 1948 CE

Publication of 'A Mathematical Theory of Communication'

Published the foundational paper creating information theory, defining entropy, channel capacity, and the bit.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Mount Auburn Cemetery (Tomb of Claude Shannon)
Medford (Massachusetts), United States
GPS: 42.3703, -71.1444
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