Seymour Papert
Born 1928 · Age 97
South African–born mathematician, computer scientist, and educator; pioneer of artificial intelligence and constructionist learning; co-inventor of Logo; longtime MIT researcher and founding faculty member of the MIT Media Lab.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Pretoria, South Africa
Born to a Jewish family in Pretoria, Union of South Africa.
Early anti-apartheid activism (organised lessons for black domestic servants)
As a child organized informal lessons for black domestic servants; early incident that later informed his political activism and led to future immigration visa complications.
BA (Philosophy) from University of the Witwatersrand
Received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from the University of the Witwatersrand.
PhD in Mathematics (University of the Witwatersrand)
Awarded PhD; thesis: 'Sequential Convergence in Lattices With Special Reference To Modular And Subgroup Lattices' (University of the Witwatersrand).
Commonwealth research scholarship to Cambridge / move to UK
Accepted a Commonwealth research scholarship and moved to St John's College, Cambridge to broaden research and study (led to second doctorate).
Research at Henri Poincaré Institute, University of Paris
Worked as a researcher at the Henri Poincaré Institute (University of Paris) while completing research toward second doctorate.
Begins collaboration with Jean Piaget at University of Geneva
Started work with Jean Piaget at the International Centre for Genetic Epistemology, studying children's cognitive development (collaboration lasted through ~1963).
Second doctorate (PhD) in Mathematics, University of Cambridge
Awarded a second doctorate (Cambridge); thesis later listed as 'The lattices of logic and topology' (ProQuest entry 1960).
Presented/Met Marvin Minsky at London symposium
At a London symposium (Colin Cherry memorial) presented work and encountered Marvin Minsky — meeting that initiated long collaboration.
Research at National Physical Laboratory and other institutions
Held research positions at institutions including the National Physical Laboratory (UK) and St John's College, Cambridge prior to moving to MIT.
Joined MIT as research associate
Became a research associate at MIT, beginning a career that would last decades and include AI and education research.
Appointed Professor of Applied Mathematics at MIT
Promoted to professor of applied mathematics at MIT (position began in 1967).
Development and early deployment of the Logo programming language
Developed Logo (with Wally Feurzeig and Cynthia Solomon) at MIT as a programming language to help children learn to think and solve problems.
Named co-director of MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Appointed co-director (with Marvin Minsky as founding director) of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory; led lab work in AI and robotics through 1981.
Creation of the Logo 'Turtle' robot
Developed the small mobile 'Logo Turtle' robot used to teach children programming concepts through play.
Perceptrons (book with Marvin Minsky) published
Co-authored Perceptrons: an influential mathematical critique of simple neural nets (1969); had major impact on AI research trajectories.
Mentored notable doctoral students
Supervised and influenced doctoral students who became leaders in computing and education (e.g., Mitchel Resnick, Gerald Jay Sussman, Terry Winograd, Idit Harel Caperton).
Counter-free automata (publication, with Robert McNaughton)
Co-authored 'Counter-free automata' (1971), a technical contribution to theoretical computer science.
Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Education at MIT
Held the Cecil and Ida Green professorship in education from 1974 to 1981.
Influenced LEGO Mindstorms naming and later product development
LEGO named its Mindstorms robotics kits after Papert's book 'Mindstorms'; Papert collaborated with Lego on programmable bricks and educational robotics.
Published Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas
Published Mindstorms (1980), his seminal popular book advocating constructionist learning and children's programming.
Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship
Received a Guggenheim fellowship in recognition of his research and creative work.
Public recognition as pioneer of educational computing
By 1980 widely recognized as a foundational figure in educational computing and constructionist learning.
Chair of Logo Computer Systems, Inc. (LCSI) (board chair >20 years)
Served as board chair of LCSI for over two decades; LCSI developed LogoWriter and other educational software.
Co-founded Logo Computer Systems, Inc. (LCSI)
Along with colleagues from MIT's Logo group, founded LCSI to commercialize Logo-based educational software; served as board chair for over 20 years.
Received Marconi International Fellowship
Awarded the Marconi International fellowship (1981).
Founding faculty member of the MIT Media Lab
Joined Jerome Wiesner, Marvin Minsky, and Nicholas Negroponte as founding faculty for the MIT Media Lab (the Architecture Machine Group evolved into the Media Lab).
Collaboration with LEGO begins
Began long-term collaboration with the LEGO company on programmable educational toys (e.g., LEGO/Logo, later Mindstorms-inspired kits).
Created Epistemology and Learning Research Group at MIT
Established the Epistemology and Learning Research Group (later part of Media Lab initiatives) to study constructionist learning.
Second edition of Mindstorms published (1993 intro correction activity started earlier)
Second edition of Mindstorms (1993) included reflections, debugging of earlier ideas, and new emphasis on tinkering and microworlds.
LEGO endows professorship at MIT; Papert named first LEGO Professor of Learning Research
The LEGO Company endowed a chair at the MIT Media Lab; Papert became the first LEGO Professor of Learning Research.
Chaired advisory board of MaMaMedia (Idit Harel Caperton's company)
Served as chair of the advisory board of MaMaMedia, supporting applications of constructionist learning in educational software.
Edited 'Constructionism' (collection)
Co-edited Constructionism: research reports and essays (1991) with Idit Harel, consolidating constructionist research.
Co-authored 'Epistemological Pluralism and the Revaluation of the Concrete' with Sherry Turkle
Collaborated with then-wife Sherry Turkle on influential paper about epistemological pluralism and access to computation for diverse learners.
Published The Children's Machine
Published The Children's Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer (1993), furthering his critique and vision for schooling.
Software and product milestones: LogoWriter and LEGO/Logo (marketed)
Worked with LCSI and others to design award-winning educational programs including LogoWriter and Lego/Logo (precursors to consumer Mindstorms kits).
Software Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award
Received the Software Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to educational software.
Became Professor Emeritus at MIT
Retired from full-time faculty role and became professor emeritus (1996); continued active writing, advising, and research.
Published The Connected Family
Published The Connected Family: Bridging the Digital Generation Gap (1996), addressing family, technology, and communication.
Smithsonian Award from Computerworld
Honored with the Smithsonian Award from Computerworld for lifetime contributions to computing and education.
LEGO Papert Professorship named in his honor
After Papert became professor emeritus, the LEGO professorship title was modified to the LEGO Papert Professorship of Learning Research; later passed to Mitchel Resnick.
Established the Learning Barn and the Seymour Papert Institute (Maine)
Moved to Maine and set up the Learning Barn and Seymour Papert Institute to pursue regional youth work and educational projects.
Influence on Maine statewide laptop initiative
Instrumental in Maine's initiative to provide laptops to all 7th and 8th graders (one-to-one computing in public schools).
Named one of the nation's top 10 education innovators by Newsweek
Recognized by Newsweek (2001) as one of the nation's top 10 innovators in education.
Ongoing archival and dissemination of writings (Daily Papert)
A curated archive of Papert's articles, speeches, and interviews was maintained at The Daily Papert (digital archive) to preserve and distribute his work.
Advocated for open-source OS choice for OLPC
Advocated for Linux (open source) on OLPC devices rather than proprietary Mac OS, to allow tinkering and modification by children.
Co-founded One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative
Joined Nicholas Negroponte and Alan Kay to create the One Laptop per Child nonprofit to design and distribute low-cost laptops to children globally; Papert was a principal adviser.
Emergency surgery and medevac to Boston
Underwent clot removal surgery at French Hospital in Hanoi and was airlifted by Swiss Air Ambulance to Boston for intensive care (~4 weeks).
Serious brain injury in Hanoi (motor scooter accident)
Struck by a motor scooter at the 17th ICMI Study conference in Hanoi; suffered a large brain injury and underwent emergency surgery in Hanoi before air transfer to Boston.
Transferred to hospital near home; developed sepsis and had heart valve replaced
After initial recovery moved to local hospital in January 2007; developed sepsis that damaged a heart valve which was later replaced during rehabilitation.
Returned home; ongoing rehabilitation
By 2008 had returned home, regained clear thought and near-unaided walking but continued speech rehabilitation and intensive therapy based on his constructionist principles.
Cumulative OLPC production milestone (laptops distributed)
One Laptop per Child reported production and distribution numbering in the millions, reaching dozens of countries; Papert frequently quoted as 'each laptop has Seymour inside'.
Awarded honorary Doctor of Science in Engineering (University of the Witwatersrand)
His alma mater awarded him an honorary DSc (Engineering) honoris causa in recognition of his lifelong contributions to education and computing.
Died in Blue Hill, Maine
Died at home in Blue Hill, Maine on 31 July 2016; widely eulogized for transformative work in education, AI, and computing.
Posthumous celebration at MIT
MIT Media Lab hosted a celebration of Papert's life and work (January 26, 2017) with tributes from colleagues and students.
Key Achievement Ages
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