Harry L. Nelson

Harry L. Nelson
BornJanuary 8, 1932
Topeka, Kansas
DiedMay 14, 2024
Known forCo-creation of "Cray Blitz"

Harry Lewis Nelson (born January 8, 1932) is an American mathematician and computer programmer. He was a member of the team that won the World Computer Chess Championship in 1983[1] and 1986,[2] and was a co-discoverer of the 27th Mersenne prime in 1979[3] (at the time, the largest known prime number). He also served as editor of the Journal of Recreational Mathematics for five years. Most of his professional career was spent at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where he worked with some of the earliest supercomputers. He was particularly noted as one of the world's foremost experts in writing optimized assembly language routines for the Cray-1 and Cray X-MP computers. Nelson had a lifelong interest in puzzles of all types, and founded the MiniMax Game Company, a small venture that helps puzzle inventors to develop and market their products.

In 1994, Nelson donated his correspondence from his days as editor of the Journal of Recreational Mathematics to the University of Calgary Library as part of the Eugène Strens Recreational Mathematics Special Collection.[4]

  1. ^ Bogner, Harold, "The New Champion", in Chess Life, vol. 39, no 2, February 1984.
  2. ^ Robert M. Hyatt, Harry L. Nelson, Albert E. Gower, "Cray Blitz", in Computers, Chess, and Cognition, Springer-Verlag, 1990, (111-130).
  3. ^ Luckett, Herbert P. (Oct 1979). "Largest Prime Number". Popular Science. Vol. 215, no. 4. Bonnier. p. 75. ISSN 0161-7370. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
  4. ^ "Eugène Strens Recreational Mathematics Collection at the University of Calgary Library". ucalgary.ca. Archived from the original on August 13, 2010. Retrieved June 18, 2010.