[pd-discuss] Fwd: Michael S. Hart - Gutenberg

Fri Sep 9 08:56:09 UTC 2011

I'm very sad to say that Michael Hart, Founder of the amazing Project
Gutenberg project, passed away earlier this week. :-(

Below is an obituary from his friend and colleague Greg Newby.

All the best,

Jonathan

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 Michael S. Hart

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 Obituary for Michael Stern Hart

   Michael Stern Hart was born in Tacoma, Washington on March 8, 1947. He
   died on September 6, 2011 in his home in Urbana, Illinois, at the age
   of 64. His is survived by his mother, Alice, and brother, Bennett.
   Michael was an Eagle Scout (Urbana Troop 6 and Explorer Post 12), and
   served in the Army in Korea during the Vietnam era.

   Hart was best known for his 1971 invention of electronic books, or
   eBooks. He founded Project Gutenberg, which is recognized as one of the
   earliest and longest-lasting online literary projects. He often told
   this story of how he had the idea for eBooks. He had been granted
   access to significant computing power at the University of Illinois at
   Urbana-Champaign. On July 4 1971, after being inspired by a free
   printed copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, he decided to
   type the text into a computer, and to transmit it to other users on the
   computer network. From this beginning, the digitization and
   distribution of literature was to be Hart's life's work, spanning over
   40 years.

   Hart was an ardent technologist and futurist. A lifetime tinkerer, he
   acquired hands-on expertise with the technologies of the day: radio,
   hi-fi stereo, video equipment, and of course computers. He constantly
   looked into the future, to anticipate technological advances. One of
   his favorite speculations was that someday, everyone would be able to
   have their own copy of the Project Gutenberg collection or whatever
   subset desired. This vision came true, thanks to the advent of large
   inexpensive computer disk drives, and to the ubiquity of portable
   mobile devices, such as cell phones.

   Hart also predicted the enhancement of automatic translation, which
   would provide all of the world's literature in over a hundred
   languages. While this goal has not yet been reached, by the time of his
   death Project Gutenberg hosted eBooks in 60 different languages, and
   was frequently highlighted as one of the best Internet-based resources.

   A lifetime intellectual, Hart was inspired by his parents, both
   professors at the University of Illinois, to seek truth and to question
   authority. One of his favorite recent quotes, credited to George
   Bernard Shaw, is characteristic of his approach to life:
 "Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world.  Unreasonable
 people attempt to adapt the world to themselves.  All progress,
 therefore, depends on unreasonable people."

   Michael prided himself on being unreasonable, and only in the later
   years of life did he mellow sufficiently to occasionally refrain from
   debate. Yet, his passion for life, and all the things in it, never
   abated.

   Frugal to a fault, Michael glided through life with many possessions
   and friends, but very few expenses. He used home remedies rather than
   seeing doctors. He fixed his own house and car. He built many
   computers, stereos, and other gear, often from discarded components.

   Michael S. Hart left a major mark on the world. The invention of eBooks
   was not simply a technological innovation or precursor to the modern
   information environment. A more correct understanding is that eBooks
   are an efficient and effective way of unlimited free distribution of
   literature. Access to eBooks can thus provide opportunity for increased
   literacy. Literacy, the ideas contained in literature, creates
   opportunity.

   In July 2011, Michael wrote these words, which summarize his goals and
   his lasting legacy: "One thing about eBooks that most people haven't
   thought much is that eBooks are the very first thing that we're all
   able to have as much as we want other than air. Think about that for a
   moment and you realize we are in the right job." He had this advice for
   those seeking to make literature available to all people, especially
   children:
 "Learning is its own reward.  Nothing I can
 say is better than that."

   Michael is remembered as a dear friend, who sacrificed personal luxury
   to fight for literacy, and for preservation of public domain rights and
   resources, towards the greater good.

   This obituary is granted to the public domain by its author, Dr.
   Gregory B. Newby.
   Retrieved from "http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Michael_S._Hart"

-- 
Jonathan Gray

Community Coordinator
The Open Knowledge Foundation
http://www.okfn.org

http://twitter.com/jwyg