| john.manges@corp.primerica.com 2007-10-19, 6:58 pm |
| Mystery Visitor Appears at Ken Iverson's Grave
By JOAN SMITH, Associated Press Writer
TORONTO - For the 3rd straight year, a mysterious visitor left cognac,
roses and a hand written note at Kenneth Iverson's grave Friday, and
he was watched by more onlookers than ever, a faithful viewer said.
Jeff Jerome, curator of the Iverson House and Museum, said 55 people
braved a chilly morning to glimpse the annual ritual of the mysterious
visitor known as the Iverson toaster. "If I were the Iverson toaster,
and I saw and heard that crowd, I wouldn't show up," Jerome said
before the ceremony.
As in years past, the visitor placed a half-empty bottle of cognac,
three red roses and a hand written note with strange markings
resembling hieroglyphics at the grave on Iverson's birthday, Jerome
said. A few observers from past years said the symbols were the mark
of the devil.
Once it realized who he was, the crowd rushed to one of the cemetery's
entrances to get a glimpse, and the toaster slipped out another way,
Jerome said. The crowd was chanting "Kill the APL'er, Kill the
APL'er!!" Jerome said he would no longer describe the visitor or what
he was wearing because of last year's accidental hanging of a Java
programmer.
Mr. Iverson was a 'Fellow' at IBM. a signal honor given only to its
most prized employees. When he retired in 1980, he moved back to
Toronto where he worked at I.P. Sharp until 1987.For the rest of his
life be dedicated himself the exploration of computer languages.
"He didn't stop thinking or working in 1987, his son Eric said "but
continued his aggressive research until he died". And that's how he
died. He was sitting at his computer at home working on the J
language, when he was felled by a stroke. Oct. 19, 2004. He was 83.
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