George E. Felton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
George Eric Felton
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| Born | 3 February 1921 Paris, France
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| Died | 14 June 2019 (aged 98) |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Magdalene College, Cambridge |
| Employer | Elliott Brothers, Ferranti, ICT, ICL |
| Known for | Ferranti Pegasus and Orion system software, the GEORGE Operating System |
| Spouse(s) | Ruth A. R. Felton (nee Holt) |
| Children | Nicholas Peter Eric Matthew |
| Relatives | Paul Grice |
George Eric Felton (born February 3, 1921 – died June 14, 2019) was a British computer scientist. He was a pioneer in creating important computer programs called operating systems. He is known as the "father" of the GEORGE Operating System. George Felton also once held a world record for calculating the number π (pi).
Contents
Early Life and Education
George Felton was born in Paris, France, in 1921. His parents were English. His mother, Muriel Felton, worked at Bletchley Park during World War II. George grew up in Paris and Menton. He moved to England after his father passed away.
He attended Bedford School and then Magdalene College, Cambridge. There he studied advanced mathematics. His studies were paused by World War II. George joined the RAF during the war. He used his interest in electronics to become a Radar engineer. He also worked as an instructor.
After the war, he returned to Cambridge in 1946. At Cambridge, he met his future wife, Ruth Felton. They met at a country dance society. George first studied theoretical physics. Later, he focused on numerical analysis and programming. This was because he worked closely with the EDSAC computer. This early computer was being built at Cambridge.
Building Computer Systems
In 1951, George Felton joined Elliott Brothers. He designed programming systems there. He also wrote software for the Nicholas and Elliott 402 computers. In 1954, he moved to Ferranti's London Computer Centre.
At Ferranti, George led a team. They created new operating systems and programming software. These were for the Ferranti Pegasus and Orion computers. George was very dedicated to his work. He would often work alone on weekends. He used the Pegasus computer to calculate π (pi). He calculated it to a record 10,024 decimal places! This was a great way to test how reliable Pegasus was. His calculations of pi were world records in 1957.
The GEORGE Operating System
In 1963, Ferranti's computer business joined with International Computers and Tabulators (ICT). Later, in 1968, ICT merged with other companies. They formed International Computers Limited (ICL).
After these mergers, George Felton managed a special division. This team was in charge of the operating system for the 1900 Series computers. This new system was named GEORGE. It was based on ideas from the Orion computer. It also used a system called "spooling" from the Atlas computer.
Personal Life and Hobbies
George Felton was also a talented photographer. He was a member of the Royal Photographic Society. His photos were often shown in their International Print Exhibition. You can find examples of his work online.
He married Ruth A. R. Holt in Cambridge in 1951. They had four sons together. One son, Matthew Felton, moved to the United States. He became a designer for the Microsoft Windows NT operating system. Another son, Eric Felton, worked at ICL. He worked on tools for computer-aided software engineering.
George Felton passed away in June 2019. He was 98 years old.
Awards and Recognition
- Fellow of the British Computer Society
- Fujitsu Gold Medal for Computing
- Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society
