Lynn Conway, computing pioneer and transgender advocate, dies at 86
Lynn Conway, a pioneering computer scientist who was fired from IBM in the 1960s after telling managers she was transgender despite her significant technological innovations — and who received a rare formal apology from the company 52 years later — died on June 9 in Jackson, Michigan. She was 86 years old.Her husband, Charles Rogers, said she died in hospital from complications from two recent heart attacks.In 1968, after leaving IBM, Ms. Conway was among the first Americans to undergo gender reassignment surgery. But she kept it a secret, living in what she called "stealth" mode for 31 years out of fear of career retaliation and concern for her physical safety. She rebuilt her career from the ground up, eventually landing at the legendary Xerox PARC lab, where she once again made major...