John Tukey

John Wilder Tukey (June 16, 1915 - July 26, 2000) was an American mathematician and statistician known for foundational contributions to computing as well as statistics. He developed the fast Fourier transform algorithm together with James Cooley, and while collaborating with John von Neumann on early computer designs he coined the term bit, short for binary digit; he is also credited with the first published use of the word software, in a 1958 article. After World War Two work at the Fire Control Research Office, Tukey divided his career between Princeton University, where he founded the statistics department in 1965, and AT&T Bell Laboratories, and received the National Medal of Science in 1973 and the IEEE Medal of Honor in 1982.