Sophie Wilson
Computer scientist who designed the ARM instruction set and BBC BASIC
- Works listed
- 2
- Programming language, Architecture
- Honours
- 2
- Most recent 2019
- Profile views
- 1
- 0 followers
Sophie Wilson is an English computer scientist who designed the instruction set of the ARM processor with Steve Furber at Acorn Computers. ARM chips are in billions of phones and devices. She also wrote BBC BASIC for the BBC Micro.
Biography
Cambridge
Wilson studied computer science and mathematics at Selwyn College, Cambridge. During a break she designed a microcomputer and an automatic cow feeder.
Acorn and the BBC Micro
She designed the Acorn System 1 and the Proton prototype that became the BBC Micro, building it in a week in 1981, and wrote BBC BASIC.
ARM
From 1983 she designed the instruction set for the Acorn RISC Machine, keeping it simple and power-efficient. The first chip ran in 1985 and became the basis of ARM.
Later work
She worked at Element 14 and Broadcom on the Firepath processor. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society and was appointed CBE in 2019.
Timeline
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1978
Joins Acorn
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1981
BBC Micro and BBC BASIC
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1983
Begins ARM design
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1985
First ARM chip works
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2013
Fellow of the Royal Society
-
2019
CBE
Notable works
-
1981
BBC BASIC Programming language
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1985
ARM instruction set Architecture
With Steve Furber.
Awards and honours
-
Fellow of the Royal Society
2013
-
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
2019
Did you know?
-
1
She was portrayed in the drama Micro Men (2009).
-
2
The first ARM chip used so little power it ran even with its power supply disconnected.
-
3
She is a transgender woman and has spoken about visibility in tech.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Sophie Wilson?
Sophie Wilson is an English computer scientist who designed the instruction set of the ARM processor with Steve Furber at Acorn Computers. ARM chips are in billions of phones and devices. She also wrote BBC BASIC for the BBC Micro.
Where is Sophie Wilson from?
Sophie Wilson was born in Leeds, England.
What is Sophie Wilson known for?
Sophie Wilson is best known for Designing the ARM instruction set (1983–85); BBC BASIC; the BBC Micro.
What awards has Sophie Wilson received?
Notable honours include Fellow of the Royal Society (2013), Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2019).
References
- Sophie Wilson — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Sophie Wilson — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. www.sophie.org.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Sophie Wilson (Q16489) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Sophie Wilson”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Sophie Wilson.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/sophie-wilson
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