Henry F. Sherwood

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Henry Francis Sherwood (born November 22, 1921 in Berlin as Heinrich Weizenbaum ; † July 25, 2005 in Bayonne , France ) was a computer pioneer of German descent who later took on US citizenship. One of his brothers was the computer scientist and science critic Joseph Weizenbaum (1923-2008).

Life

Heinrich Weizenbaum's parents were the court mayor Jechiel Weizenbaum and his second wife Henriette. The father already had a son from his first marriage, Leo Weizenbaum. His younger brother Joseph Weizenbaum was born in January 1923. The wealthy family lived on Charlottenstrasse not far from Gendarmenmarkt . First, Heinz Weizenbaum attended the Luisenstädtische Realgymnasium until, on the basis of a law, Jewish students were no longer allowed to attend state schools and he switched to a Jewish school. In 1935 he celebrated his bar mitzvah in the synagogue on Fasanenstrasse .

Due to the increasing pressure on Jewish people in Germany, the family decided to emigrate to the USA. Relatives living in Detroit provided the necessary guarantee so that the Weizenbaums could board the express steamer Bremen in Bremerhaven in January 1936 and leave Germany. The family settled in Detroit, where the father was in the fur trade. Heinz Weizenbaum learned English quickly and joined the ROTC . After graduating from high school, he resisted his father's request to get into the fur trade and worked part-time in a clothing store. The store's Catholic HR manager introduced him to the Capuchin monk Father Solanus Casey, with whom he soon became friends. He decided to convert and was baptized by Casey in 1940.

In 1942 Heinrich Weizenbaum volunteered for the army. Due to his ROTC training and his German origins, he assumed that he would receive an officer training and be transferred to Europe. However, he was assigned to the 33rd Infantry Division, which was used in the Pacific region. The legal situation at the time required for a foreign assignment that the soldier had US citizenship. Heinrich Weizenbaum was naturalized in a fast-track procedure on June 4, 1943, shortly before his unit was shipped to Hawaii .

In the course of naturalization, the judge noted that a new citizen has the right to choose a new name. Weizenbaum chose the name Henry Francis Sherwood. He chose the nickname Francis after one of his role models, St. Francis , the last name after the forest from the stories about Robin Hood . During the war, Sherwood was involved in operations in New Guinea , Morotai , the Philippines, and most recently in the occupation of Japan .

From 1966 to 1977 he was head of the European Diebold research program in Germany. He then founded his company Sherwood & Associates, based in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe , which tested the security of data centers and IT installations.

Sherwood was married twice and had nine daughters and one son. He died of an infection at the age of 83 after having had bypass surgery .

Quotes

“I am grateful for your prayers, after all, we have the same God. However I am also mentally prepared not to come off the OP table alive, not being brave but realistic and grateful that I could spend so many years on this planet. Shalom, Henry. "

“I am grateful for your prayers, after all we have the same God. Nevertheless, I am mentally prepared not to get up alive from the operating table, not because I'm brave, but realistic and grateful that I was able to stay on this planet for so many years. Shalom, Henry "

- Sherwood : before the heart operation after which he died

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Sherwood, Henry F.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Weizenbaum, Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American computer pioneer of German descent
DATE OF BIRTH November 22, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH July 25, 2005
Place of death Bayonne