Hugh McGregor Ross facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hugh McGregor Ross
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Hugh McGregor Ross, 88 years of age when the photo was taken in January 2006, with a copy of the 1987 Draft Proposal for ISO/IEC 10646
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Hugh McGregor Ross
31 August 1917 Nairobi, British East Africa
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| Died | 1 September 2014 (aged 97) Painswick, Gloucestershire, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | computer scientist |
| Known for | early work as a computer pioneer, standardization of ASCII |
Hugh McGregor Ross (31 August 1917 – 1 September 2014) was an important early expert in British computing. He helped shape how computers understand text. He worked on some of the first computers and helped create rules for how they handle letters and symbols.
A Pioneer in Computing
Hugh McGregor Ross began working with computers in the 1960s. He was employed by a company called Ferranti. There, he worked on early computers like the Pegasus. These machines used special electronic parts called "thermionic valves."
Making Computers Understand Us
One of Hugh's biggest contributions was in making computers "speak" the same language. He helped create important rules for how computers understand letters, numbers, and symbols. These rules are called ASCII and ISO 646.
He worked closely with another computer expert, Bob Bemer. In Europe, an early version of ASCII was even known as the Bemer–Ross Code. This shows how important their work was together.
Hugh also helped design other key standards. He was one of the main people behind ISO 6937. Later, he played a big part in creating the Universal Character Set (ISO/IEC 10646). This set helps computers around the world understand almost every written language. It allows you to see text correctly, no matter what language it is in.
His Other Interests
Beyond computers, Hugh McGregor Ross had other passions. He was an expert on the Gospel of Thomas. This is an ancient text that contains sayings attributed to Jesus. He wrote several books about it, sharing his knowledge.
Hugh was also a Quaker. Quakers are a religious group known for their peaceful beliefs. He wrote about George Fox, who was a founder of the Quaker movement. Hugh's notes and papers about George Fox's teachings are kept in a special collection in Yorkshire.
