Bryan Higman

Alternative spellings:
B. Higman

B: 1914
D: 1991
Biblio: After working in the British computing industry, Bryan Higman became an academic computer scientist at the University of London, followed by Lancaster University. Professor Higman participated in the war effort by instructing young RAE cadets on ballistics. In 1953, he joined GEC, and worked at Stanmore, Middlesex on problems of control theory associated with the guidance system of a missile called RED DEAN (analogue computers). Then, he was directed to investigate digital computers at RRE Malvern. He was also involved in the GEC programme EL DRACO (parallEL Drum And Cores). Later on, Higman specialised in high-level programming languages including Algol. Between 1967 and 1970, he was reader in computer science at the Institute for Computer Science of London University. Then he moved to Lancaster University, where he was based until his retirement in 1982. He is the author of manuals on computing and computing languages including: Applied Group-Theoretic and Matrix Methods, (Clarendon, 1955), Comparative Study of Programming Languages, (Elsevier, 1967), and Foundation Course in Computer Science, (MacDonald 1975). Bryan Higman (1914-1991), studied chemistry at Balliol College Oxford, served in the air force during World War II teaching ballistics, and became a lecturer in Chemistry, then reader in Computer Science at the University of London, and finally a professor at the University of Lancaster. He published books such as Applied Group-theoretic and Matrix Methods (1964), A Comparative Study of Programming Languages (1967) and Foundation course in computer science (1975).