Claude E. Shannon: A retrospective on his life, work, and impact

Claude E. Shannon invented information theory and provided the concepts, in sights, and mathematical formulations that now form the basis for modern co mmunication technology. In a surprisingly large number of ways, he enabled the information age. A major part of this influence comes from his two-part monumental 1948 paper, "A Mathematical Theory of Communication." We attemp t here to provide some clues as to how a single person could have such a ma jor impact. We first describe Shannon's life and then study his publication s in the communication area. We next consider his research style in the con text of these publications. Finally, we consider the process under which th e impact of his work evolved from the creation of a beautiful and challengi ng theory to the establishment of the central principles guiding digital co mmunication technology. We end with some reflections on the research enviro nment that stimulates such work both then and now.