Frederick"Fred" Phillips Brooks, Jr. was born on 19 Apr 1931 in Durham, North Carolina, son of Frederick Philips Brooks (1900 - 1969) and Octavia H (Broome) Brooks (1901 - 1972).[1]
He married Nancy Greenwood.[2]children:Kenneth P. Brooks[2], Roger G. Brooks m. Ann[2], and Barbara B. (Brooks) La Dine m. Jeffrey La Dine.[2]
"In Memoriam: Fred Brooks, best known for managing the development of IBM's System/360 family of computers and the OS/360 software support package, died on November 17 at age 91. Brooks received the ACM A.M. Turing Award in 1999 for landmark contributions to computer architecture, operating systems, and software engineering. In his classic text on software engineering, The Mythical Man-Month, Brooks described the lessons he learned leading the software team that developed the System/360 operating system. It is from that experience that Brooks proposed "Brooks' Law": that "adding manpower to a late software project makes it later."[3]
Frederick died on 17 Nov 2022 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina aged 91[1] and was buried at Old Chapel Hill Cemetery, Chapel Hill, Orange County, North Carolina.[4]
Obituary (extract)[2]
"Born on April 19, 1931, Dr. Brooks grew up in Greenville, North Carolina, graduated from Duke University, and received his Ph.D. in Computer Science at Harvard University. He joined IBM in Poughkeepsie, NY and became internationally known for his leadership of the development of the IBM System/360 computer family, and for his book "The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering," which captured lessons learned from that pioneering project. Dr. Brooks' seminal work in computer architecture and software engineering was recognized with the National Medal of Technology, awarded by President Reagan in 1985".
"In 1964 Dr. Brooks joined UNC- Chapel Hill as founder, first professor and for twenty years Chairman of the Department of Computer Science, where he built that department into prominence and actively taught and researched for 51 years. In 1991 he was awarded the ACM Turing Award, the highest honor in computer science".
"Far more important to him than his professional accomplishments, Dr. Brooks was a faithful follower of his Lord Jesus Christ, in whom he placed his trust and hope in life and in death. He taught Sunday School at Orange United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill for over 50 years, served as Chairman of the 1973 Triangle Billy Graham Crusade, served as the founding chairman of the boards of both the North Carolina (Christian) Study Center at UNC and Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill, and served for decades as faculty advisor to the UNC graduate chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (FOCUS)."
"Fred is survived by his beloved wife of 66 years, Nancy Greenwood Brooks, his brother John C. Brooks (Nancy Jane), of Raleigh, his children, Kenneth P. Brooks, Roger G. Brooks (Ann), and Barbara B. La Dine (Jeffrey), all of Chapel Hill, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. He was pre-deceased by his brother, Henry Franklin Brooks".
"A visitation will be held at Orange United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill Monday evening, November 21, from 7 to 9 p.m. The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 22, at the Chapel Hill Bible Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the N.C. Study Center, or to Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill."
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Categories: North Carolina, Needs Profiles Created | Old Chapel Hill Cemetery, Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Computer Scientists | Notables