About Elizabeth Rather
Born 1940. Elizabeth Rather is an American computer scientist and engineer, known for Forth (programming language).
Elizabeth "Bess" D. Rather (born 1940) is the co-founder of FORTH, Inc. and is a leading expert in the Forth programming language.
She became involved with Forth while she was at the University of Arizona, but working part-time for National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). While she initially aimed to rewrite their systems (written in Forth) in FORTRAN, her discovery of the power of Forth convinced her to leave the University to work for NRAO and Kitt Peak National Observatory, where she wrote the first Forth manual and started popularizing the language in the scientific community. She co-founded FORTH, Inc. with Charles Moore in 1973.
In 2006, she retired and lives in Hawaii, but continues with occasional Forth-related writing and teaching projects.
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Important facts
People in Elizabeth Rather's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who is Elizabeth Rather?
American computer scientist
When was Elizabeth Rather born?
Elizabeth Rather was born on 3 August 1940.
What is Elizabeth Rather's occupation?
Elizabeth Rather is a computer scientist and engineer.
What is Elizabeth Rather known for?
Elizabeth Rather is known for Forth (programming language).
What nationality is Elizabeth Rather?
Elizabeth Rather is American.
Sources & further reading
Β· Wikipedia: Elizabeth Rather
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Elizabeth Rather. https://biography.guide/elizabeth-rather/
MLA: "Elizabeth Rather." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/elizabeth-rather/.
Chicago: "Elizabeth Rather." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/elizabeth-rather/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-22 Β· Spot an error? Report a correction.
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