J. W. J. Williams

J. W. J. (Bill) Williams (c. 1930 – 29 September 2012)[1] was a computer scientist best known for inventing heapsort and the binary heap data structure in 1963 while working for Elliot Bros. (London) Ltd.[2][3]

Personal life

He was born in England.[4] In 1974, he moved to Ottawa, Canada.[1][3][4] On 29 September 2012, he died and was 82 years old; he had a Celebration of Life at the Ron Maslin Playhouse on October 6, requesting donations in his memory to be given to Kanata Theatre (where he volunteered) and Ottawa Heart Institute.[1]

He was married to Ann[3] for 50 years, and had children named Peter (Carey), Rob (Rick) and Richard (Charlotte), who had children named Rowan, Derek, Emmett, Reed, and Seth.[1]

Career

In 1952, he received a B.Sc. in mathematics from King's College, University of London.[4]

In England, he worked for Elliot Bros. (London) Ltd., English Electric, and GEC.[4] While working at Elliott Brothers, he published papers about heapsort[2][3] and the Elliott Simulator Package (ESP).[5]

In Canada, he worked for Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa (BNR)[4] and Nortel until retiring in 1995.[1][3] At BNR, he worked on various software and hardware systems such as the DMS digital telephone switches.[4] He volunteered for Kanata Theatre, helping construct sets, design lighting, and occasionally act on stage.[1]

References

"J.W.J. WILLIAMS Obituary (2012)". Ottawa Citizen. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2023 – via Legacy Remembers.
Williams, J. W. J. (1 June 1964) [Received 1 October 1963, revised 15 February 1964.]. Forsythe, G. E. (ed.). "Algorithm 232: Heapsort". Algorithms. Communications of the ACM. 7 (6): 347–348. doi:10.1145/512274.512284. ISSN 0001-0782 – via ACM Digital Library. Elliott Bros. (London) Ltd., Borehamwood, Herts, England
Hantman, Nancy T. (December 1997). "And the winners are ... Spectrum's Second Quilt Block Contest". IEEE Spectrum. 34 (12): 49. doi:10.1109/MSPEC.1997.642968. eISSN 1939-9340. ISSN 0018-9235 – via IEEE Xplore. COMPUTERS/FABRIC: Heapsort by J. W. J. (Bill) and Ann Williams, Kanata, Ont., Canada.
Penney, Brian K.; Williams, J. W. J. (June 1982) [Manuscript received July 21, 1981; revised December 17, 1981.]. "The Software Architecture for a Large Telephone Switch". IEEE Transactions on Communications. COM-30 (6): 1369–1378. doi:10.1109/TCOM.1982.1095594. eISSN 1558-0857. ISSN 0090-6778 – via IEEE Xplore.
Williams, J. W. J. (1 January 1964). "E.S.P. The Elliott Simulator Package". The Computer Journal. 6 (4): 328–331. doi:10.1093/comjnl/6.4.328 – via Oxford Academic, Oxford University Press.

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[:0-1] "J.W.J. WILLIAMS Obituary (2012)". Ottawa Citizen. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2023 – via Legacy Remembers.

[:1-2] Williams, J. W. J. (1 June 1964) [Received 1 October 1963, revised 15 February 1964.]. Forsythe, G. E. (ed.). "Algorithm 232: Heapsort". Algorithms. Communications of the ACM. 7 (6): 347–348. doi:10.1145/512274.512284. ISSN 0001-0782 – via ACM Digital Library. Elliott Bros. (London) Ltd., Borehamwood, Herts, England

[:4-3] Hantman, Nancy T. (December 1997). "And the winners are ... Spectrum's Second Quilt Block Contest". IEEE Spectrum. 34 (12): 49. doi:10.1109/MSPEC.1997.642968. eISSN 1939-9340. ISSN 0018-9235 – via IEEE Xplore. COMPUTERS/FABRIC: Heapsort by J. W. J. (Bill) and Ann Williams, Kanata, Ont., Canada.

[:3-4] Penney, Brian K.; Williams, J. W. J. (June 1982) [Manuscript received July 21, 1981; revised December 17, 1981.]. "The Software Architecture for a Large Telephone Switch". IEEE Transactions on Communications. COM-30 (6): 1369–1378. doi:10.1109/TCOM.1982.1095594. eISSN 1558-0857. ISSN 0090-6778 – via IEEE Xplore.

[:2-5] Williams, J. W. J. (1 January 1964). "E.S.P. The Elliott Simulator Package". The Computer Journal. 6 (4): 328–331. doi:10.1093/comjnl/6.4.328 – via Oxford Academic, Oxford University Press.