I actually tried to get out of this: at the very least on generational
grounds! It doesn't seem right to be included with great people from
earlier generations who were large influences on my own ideas. And I tend
to get way more relative credit than I deserve (think of the incredible
talents, like Dan Ingalls, who have been my colleagues). I'm thinking of
doing my talk as a tribute to John and his truly deep contributions to
ideas about computing.

Cheers,

Alan

-----
At 6:00 AM -0800 9/16/99, Tim Olson wrote:
>For those who may not have seen this, here's a message about the 1999
>Computer Museum History Center Fellows.  Congratuations, Alan!
>
>
>        -- Tim Olson
>
>
>> Dear Friends of The Computer Museum History Center:
>>
>> What do Alan Kay, John McCarthy, and Konrad Zuse all
>> have in common?
>>
>> They have all been named Computer Museum History Center
>> Fellows for 1999!
>>
>> We would like to invite you to attend this year's event,
>> taking place on September 30, from 6:00 p.m. onwards, at
>> the Palo Alto Hills Golf & Country Club.
>>
>> What is the Fellows Dinner?
>> For over a decade, The Computer Museum (and now The Computer
>> Museum History Center), has been publicly recognizing individuals
>> of outstanding merit and accomplishment who have contributed to
>> the development of computing broadly-defined. Past Fellows have
>> included: Grace Murray Hopper (1987), Jay Forrester (1995), Ken
>> Olsen (1996), John Backus, Ken Thompson, Dennis Ricthie, Steve
>> Wozniak (1997), and, most recently, Gordon Moore, Gene Amdahl,
>> and Donald Knuth (1998).
>>
>> Who can be a Fellow?
>> Fellows are chosen on the basis of accomplishment--formal education
>> is not a factor--and are nominated by a panel comprising History
>> Center staff, industry peers, and previous Fellows. In order to
>> properly assess the historical importance of a possible Fellow's
>> achievements, one criterion is that at least 10 years must have
>> elapsed between a specific contribution and that individual's
>> nomination. The contribution must thus be of a foundational nature,
>> one that has strongly influenced the intellectual, disciplinary,
>> or industrial underpinnings of computing. There is no preference
>> given to accomplishments in software or hardware, to computer
>> science over electrical engineering or any other formal disicpline,
>> to commercial success, or to the nominee's age.
>>
>> What is the Event?
>> The event typically comprises 250 people--largely from industry and
>> academia--and is of approximately three hours duration. Many of Silicon
>> Valley's most prominent businesspeople, academics, and supporters
>> of computer history attend this event to honor those who have changed
>> the theory or practice of computing and who have thus shaped the world
>> in which we live.  This year's introducers are Doug Engelbart, Ed
>> Feigenbaum, and Horst Zuse.
>>
>> We hope you will join us this year in Palo Alto for this historic,
>> and historical, event as the History Center continues its mission
>> of building an international resource for research in and display of
>> the history of computing.
>>
>> Full details about the event are available at:
>>
>> http://computerhistory.org/events/fellows_09301999/index.page
>>
>> or contact Wendy-Ann Francis (francis at computerhistory.org)
>> Tel: +1 650 604 2579.
>>
>> Thank you for your support of The Computer Museum History Center!
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> D.S.