# Claude Shannon

American mathematician and electrical engineer who founded information theory with his landmark 1948 paper "A Mathematical Theory of Communication." Shannon's work defined the concept of a "bit," established how much information can be transmitted reliably over a noisy channel, and laid the mathematical foundation for all digital communications.

## Quick Facts

- **Born:** April 30, 1916
- **Birthplace:** Petoskey, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Occupation:** mathematician
- **Category:** Scholars & Educators
- **Also Known As:** Father of Information Theory

## Overview

Claude Elwood Shannon was an American polymath who was a mathematician, electrical engineer, computer scientist, cryptographer and inventor known as the "father of information theory" and the man who laid the foundations of the Information Age.

## Wikipedia Context

This profile section is complemented from Wikipedia for Claude Shannon. American mathematician (1916–2001)

## Sources

Primary source page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Shannon

## Timeline

### 1916 — Birth
Birth of Claude Shannon.

### 2026 — Wikipedia Complement
Profile metadata and editorial blocks were complemented using Wikipedia and Wikidata references.

### 2026 — Profile Update
Structured profile components were updated to improve completeness.

## Quotes

> "Profile note: Claude Shannon was complemented using Wikipedia reference material."
> — Claude Shannon, Peoplebio editorial note (2026)

> "Editorial note: This block stores profile notes and source context, not attributed quotations."
> — Claude Shannon, Peoplebio editorial note (2026)

> "Source note: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Shannon"
> — Claude Shannon, Peoplebio editorial note (2026)

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Source: https://peoplebio.info/p/claude-shannon