# Peter Samson

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American computer programmer

Not to be confused with [Peter Sampson](/source/Peter_Sampson).

Peter Samson Born Peter R. Samson 1941 (age 84–85) Fitchburg, Massachusetts Alma mater Massachusetts Institute of Technology Known for music, Autodesk, NASA, Spacewar!, New York City Subway Scientific career Fields computer science Institutions Autodesk, Computer History Museum, Digital Equipment Corporation, NASA, Systems Concepts

**Peter R. Samson** (born 1941)[1] is an American [computer scientist](/source/Computer_scientist), best known for creating pioneering computer [software](/source/Software) for the TX-0 and PDP-1.

Samson studied at the [Massachusetts Institute of Technology](/source/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology) (MIT) between 1958 and 1963. He wrote, with characteristic wit, the first editions of the [Tech Model Railroad Club](/source/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club) (TMRC) dictionary,[2] a predecessor to the [Jargon File](/source/Jargon_File). He appears in *[Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution](/source/Hackers%3A_Heroes_of_the_Computer_Revolution)*[3][4] by [Steven Levy](/source/Steven_Levy).

## Career

### The Tech Model Railroad Club

As a member of the [Tech Model Railroad Club](/source/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club) in his student days at [MIT](/source/MIT), Samson was noted for his contributions to the Signals and Power Subcommittee, the technical side of the club. [Steven Levy](/source/Steven_Levy)'s *Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution* outlines Samson's interest in trains and electronics, and his influence in the club. Levy explains how the club was in fact Samson's gateway into [hacking](/source/Hacker_(hobbyist)) and his ability to manipulate electronics and [machine code](/source/Machine_code) to create [computer programs](/source/Computer_program). Levy explains how Samson discovered his programming passion with the [IBM 704](/source/IBM_704), but frustration with the high level of security around the machine. Only those with very high [clearance](/source/Security_clearance) were able to actually handle the computer, with all programs submitted to be processed through the machine by someone else. This meant Samson would not find out the results of his programs until a few days after submitting them. Because of these restrictions to the IBM 704, it was not until Samson was introduced to the [TX-0](/source/TX-0) that he could explore his obsession with computer programming, as members of the Railroad Club were able to access the computer directly without having to go through a superior.[5]

### Dawn of software

Working with [Jack Dennis](/source/Jack_Dennis) on the [TX-0](/source/TX-0) at MIT Building 26, he developed an interest in computing waveforms to synthesize music. For the [PDP-1](/source/PDP-1) he wrote the [Harmony Compiler](/source/Harmony_Compiler) with which PDP-1 users coded music.[6]

He wrote the [Expensive Planetarium](/source/Expensive_Planetarium) star display for *[Spacewar!](/source/Spacewar!)*.[7]

Also for the PDP-1 he wrote [TJ-2](/source/TJ-2) (Type Justifying Program), the predecessor of the [troff](/source/Troff) and [nroff](/source/Nroff) page layout programs developed at Bell Labs,[8] a [War](/source/War_(card_game)) card game, and, with [Alan Kotok](/source/Alan_Kotok), [T-Square](/source/T-Square_(software)), a drafting program that used a *Spacewar!* controller for an input device.[9]

### DEC

Samson was a contributing architect to the [Digital Equipment Corporation](/source/Digital_Equipment_Corporation) (DEC) [PDP-6](/source/PDP-6), and wrote the machine's first [Fortran](/source/Fortran) [compiler](/source/Compiler), for Fortran II.[10]

### Chinese

At [Systems Concepts](/source/Systems_Concepts), he programmed the first Chinese-character digital communication system, while he was director of marketing and director of program development.[11]

### Synthesized music

Samson designed the Systems Concepts Digital Synthesizer. Built at Systems Concepts, for ten years it was the primary engine for the [computer music](/source/Computer_music) group at [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University) [Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics](/source/CCRMA) (CCRMA).[11]

### NASA

Samson oversaw manufacturing and engineering for hardware, including the central memory subsystem for the [ILLIAC IV](/source/ILLIAC_IV) [supercomputer](/source/Supercomputer) complex at the [NASA Ames Research Center](/source/NASA_Ames_Research_Center).[11]

### Autodesk

At [Autodesk](/source/Autodesk), he contributed to rendering, animation, Web browsing, and scripting languages. He received U.S. patents in software [anti-piracy](/source/Copy_protection#Anti-piracy) and [virtual reality](/source/Virtual_reality).[11]

## Subway racing

In 1966 Samson attempted to ride all lines of the [New York City Subway](/source/New_York_City_Subway) in the shortest possible time. True to the MIT [hacker](/source/Hacker_(programmer_subculture)) culture he enlisted a computer in planning for the event. Despite missing out on the then fastest time, Samson's attempt was to act as the inspiration for many similar [subway racing](/source/Subway_Challenge) attempts.[12][13]

## Current

Samson appears in the [Computer History Museum](/source/Computer_History_Museum) Mouse That Roared panel discussion recorded in May 2006 to celebrate the restoration of a PDP-1. For the restoration project he reverse-engineered music tapes from the PDP-1 era and built a player for the museum[9] where he is currently a [docent](/source/Docent).

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-CHMSamson_1-0)** Computer History Museum (2006). ["Peter Samson"](http://www.computerhistory.org/pdp-1/index.php?f=theme&s=3&ss=10). Retrieved 2006-07-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["TMRC Dictionary"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180102215225/http://tmrc.mit.edu/dictionary.html). Archived from [the original](http://tmrc.mit.edu/dictionary.html) on 2018-01-02. Retrieved 2006-06-10.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Levybook_3-0)** Levy, Steven (2 January 2001). *Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution*. Penguin (Non-Classics). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-14-100051-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-14-100051-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Levy_4-0)** - [Steven Levy](/source/Steven_Levy). *[Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution](https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/729)* at [Project Gutenberg](/source/Project_Gutenberg)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Levy, Steven (1984) Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, Anchor Press/Doubleday, New York, pp 3-36.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Morris_6-0)** Morris, Joe (1996). ["Debuggers (Was: blinking lights ...)"](https://groups.google.com/group/alt.folklore.computers/msg/ce577239845cd6ff). [Newsgroup](/source/Usenet_newsgroup): [alt.folklore.computers](news:alt.folklore.computers). [Usenet:](/source/Usenet_(identifier)) [5629h5$ju2@top.mitre.org](news:5629h5$ju2@top.mitre.org). Retrieved 2006-12-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Graetz_7-0)** Graetz, J. Martin (Spring 1983). ["The origin of Spacewar!"](http://www.atarimagazines.com/cva/v1n1/spacewar.php). *[Creative Computing](/source/Creative_Computing) and Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games*. Retrieved 2006-07-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-DPBS_8-0)** Smith, Daniel P. B. (1993–1997). ["TJ-2: A Very Early Word Processor"](http://www.dpbsmith.com/tj2.html). Retrieved 2006-07-02. Transcription of the 1963 memo describing TJ-2, with annotations by Daniel P. B. Smith

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-CHMMouse_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-CHMMouse_9-1) Samson, Peter (2006). [*The Mouse That Roared: PDP-1 Celebration Event Lecture 05.15.06*](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4995476926708958999&q=computer+history+dec) ([Google Video](/source/Google_Video)). Mountain View, CA, USA: Computer History Museum. Retrieved 2006-07-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-SH_10-0)** Stevens, Jack H. (1996). ["A History of TOPS"](https://groups.google.com/group/alt.sys.pdp10/msg/17a1d08377234f79). [Newsgroup](/source/Usenet_newsgroup): [alt.sys.pdp10](news:alt.sys.pdp10). [Usenet:](/source/Usenet_(identifier)) [1995Jan13.151041.8661@eisner](news:1995Jan13.151041.8661@eisner). Retrieved 2006-12-22.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-CHMbio_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-CHMbio_11-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-CHMbio_11-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-CHMbio_11-3) ["Peter Samson"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071001023440/http://www.computerhistory.org/events/index.php?spkid=4&ssid=1142978073). Computer History Museum. 2004. Archived from [the original](http://www.computerhistory.org/events/index.php?spkid=4&ssid=1142978073) on October 1, 2007. Retrieved April 21, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nyp_12-0)** Miscione, Michael (2004-10-07). ["The Golden Age of the All-System Subway Races"](http://www.nypost.com/subway/subwayraces0.htm). *New York Post Online Edition*. NYP Holdings, Inc. Retrieved 2006-08-25. [*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** *[The Rise and Fall of the Amateur New York Subway Riding Committee](http://www.gricer.com/anysrc/anysrc.html)*, Personal Web Page of Peter R. Samson

## External links

- [Peter Samson personal home page](http://www.gricer.com/)

- [Abridged Dictionary of the TMRC Language](https://web.archive.org/web/20180102215225/http://tmrc.mit.edu/dictionary.html)

- [Music Playing on the PDP-6](https://web.archive.org/web/20170706120125/ftp://publications.ai.mit.edu/ai-publications/pdf/AIM-107.pdf), by Donald Sordillo, 1996, contains Music Compiler for PDP-1 by Peter Samson

- [PDP-1 Music](http://www.dpbsmith.com/pdp1music/), Daniel P. B. Smith, Web site and post to [alt.folklore.computers](https://groups.google.com/group/alt.folklore.computers/msg/f63b4e9ce5ab1736) (Google link) (accessed June 10, 2006)

Authority control databases International VIAF GND WorldCat People DDB

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Peter Samson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Samson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Samson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.