William Kahan

Canadian mathematician and computer scientist (born 1933)
Person human Q92782
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William Kahan

Summary

William Kahan is a human[1]. Born in Toronto[2], he… he was born on +1933-06-05T00:00:00Z[3]. He worked as a mathematician[4], computer scientist[5], and university teacher[6]. He ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (59 views/month, #7,242 of 1,000,298).[7]

Key Facts

  • Born in Toronto[2], William Kahan…
  • William Kahan was born on +1933-06-05T00:00:00Z[3].
  • William Kahan held citizenship in Canada[8].
  • William Kahan's professions included mathematician[4].
  • William Kahan's professions included computer scientist[5].
  • William Kahan's professions included university teacher[6].
  • Among William Kahan's employers was University of California, Berkeley[9].
  • William Kahan was employed by Adalia Ltd.[10].
  • William Kahan's education included a stint at University of Toronto[11].
  • William Kahan's doctoral advisor was Byron Alexander Griffith[12].
  • A notable work attributed to William Kahan is IEEE 754[13].
  • A notable work attributed to William Kahan is Davis-Kahan Theorem[14].
  • William Kahan received the Turing Award[15].
  • William Kahan received the IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award[16].
  • William Kahan received the ACM Fellow[17].
  • William Kahan received the honorary doctorate from the University of Waterloo[18].
  • William Kahan was a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences[19].
  • William Kahan was a member of Association for Computing Machinery[20].
  • William Kahan's image is recorded as William Kahan.jpg[21].
  • William Kahan is recorded as male[22].
  • William Kahan's instance of is recorded as human[23].
  • William Kahan supervised James Demmel as a doctoral student[24].
  • William Kahan supervised Deb Kumar Nag Chowdhury as a doctoral student[25].
  • William Kahan supervised Jerome Toby Coonen as a doctoral student[26].
  • William Kahan supervised Pingtak Peter Tang as a doctoral student[27].

Body

Origins and Family

William Kahan's place of birth was Toronto[2]. He was born on +1933-06-05T00:00:00Z[3].

Education

William Kahan was educated at University of Toronto[11]. His doctoral advisor was Byron Alexander Griffith[12].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include mathematician[4], computer scientist[5], and university teacher[6]. Employers include University of California, Berkeley[9], a public research university[28], in United States[29], founded in 1868[30], headquartered in Berkeley[31] and Adalia Ltd.[10]. Doctoral students include James Demmel[24], a mathematician[32], b. 1955[33], of United States[34], awarded the Paris Kanellakis Award[35], specialised in mathematician[36]; Deb Kumar Nag Chowdhury[25]; Jerome Toby Coonen[26]; Pingtak Peter Tang[27]; Ren-Cang Li[37]; and Scott B. Baden[38], a computer scientist[39].

Works and Contributions

Notable works include IEEE 754[13] and Davis-Kahan Theorem[14], a theorem[40]. Things named for William Kahan include Kahan summation algorithm[41], an algorithm[42].

Recognition

Awards received include Turing Award[15], a science award[43], in United States[44], founded in 1966[45]; IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award[16], a technical field award[46], founded in 1976[47]; ACM Fellow[17], a fellowship award[48]; and honorary doctorate from the University of Waterloo[18], an award[49], in Canada[50].

Why It Matters

William Kahan ranks in the top 0.72% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (59 views/month, #7,242 of 1,000,298).[7] He has Wikipedia articles in 18 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[51] He is known by 17 alternative names across languages and contexts.[52]

He is credited with the discovery of Kahan summation algorithm[53], an algorithm[54]. Entities named for him include Kahan summation algorithm[41], an algorithm[42].

His notable doctoral advisees include James Demmel[55], a mathematician[56], b. 1955[57], of United States[58], awarded the Paris Kanellakis Award[59], specialised in mathematician[60] and Scott B. Baden[61], a computer scientist[62].

FAQs

Where was William Kahan born?

William Kahan was born in Toronto[2].

What did William Kahan do for work?

William Kahan worked as mathematician[4], computer scientist[5], and university teacher[6].

Where did William Kahan go to school?

William Kahan was educated at University of Toronto[11].

What awards did William Kahan receive?

Honors received include Turing Award[15], IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award[16], ACM Fellow[17], and honorary doctorate from the University of Waterloo[18].

What did William Kahan discover?

William Kahan is credited as discoverer of Kahan summation algorithm[53].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [21] . wikidata.org.
  2. [2] . wikidata.org.
  3. [22] . wikidata.org.
  4. [8] . wikidata.org.
  5. [23] . wikidata.org.
  6. [11] . wikidata.org.
  7. [4] . wikidata.org.
  8. [5] . wikidata.org.
  9. [6] . wikidata.org.
  10. [9] . wikidata.org.
  11. [10] . people.eecs.berkeley.edu. people.eecs.berkeley.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  12. [15] . amturing.acm.org. amturing.acm.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  13. [16] . ieee.org. ieee.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  14. [17] . awards.acm.org. awards.acm.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  15. [18] . people.eecs.berkeley.edu. people.eecs.berkeley.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  16. [12] . Mathematics Genealogy Project. wikidata.org.
  17. [24] . wikidata.org.
  18. [25] . Mathematics Genealogy Project. wikidata.org.
  19. [26] . Mathematics Genealogy Project. wikidata.org.
  20. [27] . Mathematics Genealogy Project. wikidata.org.
  21. [37] . Mathematics Genealogy Project. wikidata.org.
  22. [38] . Mathematics Genealogy Project. wikidata.org.
  23. [19] . wikidata.org.
  24. [20] . awards.acm.org. Retrieved . awards.acm.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  25. [3] . amturing.acm.org. amturing.acm.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  26. [13] . wikidata.org.
  27. [14] . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [53] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [55] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [61] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [41] . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [28] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [29] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [30] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [31] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [43] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [44] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [45] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [46] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [47] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [48] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [49] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  12. [50] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  13. [32] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  14. [33] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  15. [34] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  16. [35] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  17. [36] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  18. [39] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  19. [40] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  20. [54] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  21. [56] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  22. [57] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  23. [58] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  24. [59] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  25. [60] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  26. [62] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  27. [42] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [7] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [51] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [52] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

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Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). William Kahan. Retrieved March 9, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-kahan
MLA “William Kahan.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 9 Mar. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-kahan.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_william-kahan_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{William Kahan}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-kahan}, note = {Accessed: 2026-03-09}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): William Kahan — https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-kahan (retrieved 2026-03-09)

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