Born Apr. 30, 1916, in Gaylord, Mich., USA. American scientist and engineer; one of the founders of mathematical information theory. Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1956) and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Shannon graduated from the University of Michigan in 1936. From 1941 to 1957 he was a research mathematician with Bell Telephone Laboratories. In 1941 he became a consultant for the National Defense Research Committee. Shannon became a professor of electrical engineering and mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1957.

Shannon’s principal works deal with the algebra of logic, the theory of relay and switching systems, the mathematical theory of communication, information theory, and cybernetics.