ENGINEER

W. Ross Ashby

1903 - 1972

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William Ross Ashby (6 September 1903 – 15 November 1972) was an English psychiatrist and a pioneer in cybernetics, the study of the science of communications and automatic control systems in both machines and living things. His first name was not used: he was known as Ross Ashby. His two books, Design for a Brain and An Introduction to Cybernetics, introduced exact and logical thinking into the brand new discipline of cybernetics and were highly influential. These "missionary works" along with his technical contributions made Ashby "the major theoretician of cybernetics after Wiener". Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. W. Ross Ashby is the 129th most popular engineer (up from 216th in 2019), the 2,026th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 2,506th in 2019) and the 16th most popular British Engineer.

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Among ENGINEERS

Among engineers, W. Ross Ashby ranks 129 out of 389Before him are Ivan Sechenov, Rory Byrne, Guenther Steiner, Nikolai Polikarpov, Alexander Lippisch, and Henryk Dembiński. After him are Léon Charles Thévenin, Flaminio Bertoni, Li Kui, Georgy Shpagin, Christian Otto Mohr, and Claude Dornier.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1903, W. Ross Ashby ranks 125Before him are Jan de Klerk, Maud Lewis, Cornell Woolrich, Richard Thomalla, Howard P. Robertson, and Yeshayahu Leibowitz. After him are Barbara Hepworth, Walker Evans, Joan Robinson, Dolores Costello, Flaminio Bertoni, and Bartel Leendert van der Waerden. Among people deceased in 1972, W. Ross Ashby ranks 88Before him are Joseph Paul-Boncour, Brandon deWilde, Richard Courant, C. Rajagopalachari, Fulbert Youlou, and Edgar Snow. After him are Ralph Craig, Sir George Thomas, 7th Baronet, Carl W. Stalling, Ivan Yefremov, James F. Byrnes, and C. W. Ceram.

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, W. Ross Ashby ranks 2,026 out of 8,785Before him are Alexander McQueen (1969), Alfred Fowler (1868), J. Stuart Blackton (1875), James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie (1812), Lindsay Duncan (1950), and Don Thompson (1933). After him are Mark Sykes (1879), John Taverner (1490), Alkmund of Derby (800), John Hannah (1962), Mary Ward (1585), and Anthony Collins (1676).

Among ENGINEERS In United Kingdom

Among engineers born in United Kingdom, W. Ross Ashby ranks 16Before him are Henry Royce (1863), Charles Rolls (1877), Patrick Head (1946), Robert Stephenson (1803), George Cayley (1773), and Alexander Cunningham (1814). After him are John Loudon McAdam (1756), John Scott Russell (1808), John Bagot Glubb (1897), John Hughes (1814), John Smeaton (1724), and William Playfair (1759).