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Edward H. Sussenguth

American engineer (1932-2015)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 28, 2025
Entity authorityQ15995511
Source-derived summary

Edward H. Sussenguth Jr. (October 10, 1932 – November 22, 2015) was an American engineer and former IBM employee, known best for his work on Systems Network Architecture (SNA). He was also a contributor to the architecture of IBM's Advanced Computer System (ACS).

Biography

Born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Sussenguth received a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) in 1954 from Harvard University, a Master of Science (M.S.) in electrical engineering in 1959 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in 1964 from Harvard.

After he served at the United States Navy as an officer in the Pacific Fleet, Sussenguth joined IBM in 1959. Sussenguth started in 1959 in the Research Division in the development of formal language descriptions.

This work led to Sussenguth meeting Kenneth E. Iverson and Adin Falkoff. Iverson had developed a formal notation, which was documented in a book A Programming Language. It was the original version of the programming language APL. Chapter 2 of A Programming Language had used Iverson's notation to describe the IBM 7090 computer. In early 1963, Falkoff, later joined by Iverson and Sussenguth, proceeded to use the notation to produce a formal description of the IBM System/360 computer then under design.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Edward H. Sussenguth” as american engineer (1932-2015). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Edward, Sussenguth and American.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1932, 2015, 1954, 1959—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1932-10-10. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Edward, Sussenguth and American providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Edward H. Sussenguth”, the useful work is to connect “american engineer (1932-2015)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 28, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q15995511. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1932, 2015, 1954 and 1959.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Edward H. Sussenguth”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Edward H. Sussenguth primary sources, Edward H. Sussenguth archive and Edward research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Edward H. Sussenguth” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.