Lynn Conway died at age 86 in Jackson, Michigan, after a career that reshaped microchip design and transgender advocacy.
Lynn Conway died on June 9, 2024, at age 86 in Jackson, Michigan, following complications related to a heart condition.
Her death was met with an outpouring of tribute from the computing and engineering community, as well as from transgender rights advocates, reflecting the dual legacy she left behind. Institutions including the Computer History Museum, the University of Michigan, Syracuse University, and Columbia University issued statements honoring her contributions, describing her as both a foundational figure in modern computer architecture and VLSI chip design, and a courageous early voice for transgender visibility and rights in STEM fields.
At the time of her death, Conway had lived to see significant recognition of her technical legacy, including her 2014 induction as a Computer History Museum Fellow and her 2023 induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame—honors that arrived decades after her groundbreaking but long-uncredited work at IBM in the 1960s, and her more publicly recognized achievements in VLSI design from the 1970s and 1980s.
Conway's passing marked the end of a life defined by resilience: fired from IBM in 1968 upon disclosing her gender transition, she rebuilt her career from obscurity to become one of the most influential figures in the history of computer engineering, and later a prominent advocate who helped countless transgender individuals navigate their own journeys during decades when public resources and support were scarce.