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Barbara Liskov
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Barbara Liskov

MIT computer scientist known for data abstraction and the Liskov substitution principle

7 November 1939 United States Verified by our editors
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Age
86 yrs
Birthday in 1 days
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3
Programming language, Keynote paper
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Most recent 2012
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Barbara Liskov is an American computer scientist at MIT whose work on data abstraction and the CLU language shaped how modern software is organised. The Liskov substitution principle is a core rule of object-oriented design. She received the Turing Award in 2008.

Biography

Education

Liskov studied mathematics at Berkeley. In 1968 she became one of the first women in the United States to earn a PhD in computer science, at Stanford, with a thesis on a chess program supervised by John McCarthy.

Data abstraction and CLU

At MIT in the 1970s she designed CLU, a language built around abstract data types — modules that hide their internal details behind a clean interface. CLU introduced ideas such as iterators and exception handling later adopted by Java, C# and Python.

Substitution principle

In a 1987 keynote she described the rule that objects of a subtype should be usable wherever their parent type is expected. Known as the Liskov substitution principle, it is the “L” in the SOLID principles of software design.

Distributed systems

She later worked on fault-tolerant distributed systems, including Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance with Miguel Castro in 1999, which influenced blockchain designs. She received the Turing Award in 2008 and the IEEE John von Neumann Medal in 2004.

Timeline

  1. 1939

    Born in Los Angeles, California, United States

  2. 1968

    PhD from Stanford

  3. 1972

    Joins MIT

  4. 1974

    CLU language

  5. 1987

    Substitution principle keynote

  6. 1999

    Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance

  7. 2004

    IEEE John von Neumann Medal

  8. 2008

    Turing Award

Notable works

  • 1974

    CLU Programming language

  • 1987

    Data Abstraction and Hierarchy Keynote paper

  • 1999

    Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance Paper

    With Miguel Castro.

Awards and honours

  • IEEE John von Neumann Medal

    2004

  • Turing Award

    2008

  • National Inventors Hall of Fame

    2012

Did you know?

  1. 1

    She was the second woman to win the Turing Award.

  2. 2

    Her PhD thesis was about chess endgames.

  3. 3

    Byzantine fault tolerance ideas from her work are used in some cryptocurrencies.

Connections

Also born on 7 November

Frequently asked

Who is Barbara Liskov?

Barbara Liskov is an American computer scientist at MIT whose work on data abstraction and the CLU language shaped how modern software is organised. The Liskov substitution principle is a core rule of object-oriented design. She received the Turing Award in 2008.

How old is Barbara Liskov?

Barbara Liskov is 86 years old, born on 7 November 1939 in Los Angeles, California, United States.

Where is Barbara Liskov from?

Barbara Liskov was born in Los Angeles, California, United States.

What is Barbara Liskov known for?

Barbara Liskov is best known for Data abstraction; CLU language; Liskov substitution principle; Turing Award 2008.

What awards has Barbara Liskov received?

Notable honours include IEEE John von Neumann Medal (2004), Turing Award (2008), National Inventors Hall of Fame (2012).

References

  1. Barbara Liskov — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  2. Barbara Liskov — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  3. Barbara Liskov — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  4. Official website. www.pmg.csail.mit.edu. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  5. Barbara Liskov (Q16080922) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.

Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Barbara Liskov”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more

External links

Official website Website Wikipedia
Filed under MITProgramming languagesTuring AwardWomen in computing Computer ScientistProfessor

About this profile

Cite this page

“Barbara Liskov.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/barbara-liskov

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