https://computerhistory.org/blog/in-memoriam-sir-antony-hoare-1934-2026/ In Memoriam: Sir Antony Hoare (1934–2026) By Dag Spicer | March 11, 2026 There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies. -- Sir Antony Hoare The Computer History Museum (CHM) mourns the passing of Sir Antony Hoare, a 2006 CHM Fellow and a foundational architect of modern computing, who died on March 5, 2026, at the age of 92. Tony, as he was known to friends and colleagues, was more than a scientist; he was a philosopher of the machine, dedicated to the idea that software should be as reliable and elegant as a mathematical proof. Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and educated at Oxford in the Classics, Hoare's unconventional path into computing gifted him with a unique perspective on language and logic. In 1959, while studying at Moscow State University, he developed Quicksort, an algorithm that remains the industry standard for efficiency nearly seven decades later. It was an early harbinger of his career-long pursuit: finding the most elegant solution to the most complex problems.