Woody Bledsoe - His life and legacy

Woodrow Wilson (Woody) Bledsoe died on 4 October 1995 of ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Woody was one of the founders of AI, making early contributions in pattern recognition and automated reasoning. He continued to make significant contributions to AI throughout his long career. His legacy consists not only of his scientific work but also of several generations of scientists who learned from Woody the joy of scientific research and the way to go about it. Woody's enthusiasm, his perpetual sense of optimism, his can-do attitude, and his deep sense of duty to humanity offered those who knew him the hope and comfort that truly good and great men do exist.