Jack Dennis

Jack Bonnell Dennis (October 13, 1931, to March 14, 2026) was an American computer scientist and academic who was Emeritus Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His work on computer systems and computer languages is recognized to have played a key role in hacker culture, sponsoring easier access to computer facilities at MIT during the early development of the subculture; much of what would later become Unix came from his early collaboration with Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson. He was also a member of the Tech Model Railroad Club, which incubated much of the early slang and traditions of hacking.