Mabel Addis

Mabel Addis Mergardt (21 May 1912 – 13 August 2004) was an American writer, teacher and the first female video game designer. She designed The Sumerian Game, programmed by William McKay, for the IBM 7090 in 1964. It inspired similarly-styled kingdom management games such as Hamurabi from the early 1970s.

Mabel Addis
Born
Mabel Holmes

21 May 1912
Mt. Vernon, New York
Died13 August 2004
Purdys, New York
Notable work
The Sumerian Game

Early Life & Education

James Holmes and Mabel Wood gave birth to Mabel Holmes on the 21st of May, 1912. Mabel grew up in Mount Vernon. She excelled in school, graduating valedictorian from Brewster High School in 1929. After graduating, she attended Barnard College. At Barnard, she obtained a degree in ancient history and a minor in psychology by 1933. She attended Columbia University for her graduate schooling, and obtained a masters degree in education.[1][2]

Career

Upon obtaining her master’s degree in education, Addis worked in a rural one-room school. In 1937, she moved to the Hyatt Avenue School. At this time, Mabel married Alexander L. Addis in 1942, officially becoming Mabel Addis. She worked there for thirteen years before finally moving to Katonah-Lewisboro School District in 1950. She taught in this district until 1976.[3]

Select Publications

Addis was very active in her community during this period of time. She utilized her knowledge of history to contribute to both history and book committees in the school district. She wrote and published historical articles, started an oral history collection, and co-authored a book titled Katonah: a History of a New York Village and Brewster Through the Years.[4] However, her most notable work occurred in the 1960s. Addis was elected to work with IBM and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services to create the first text-based computer game.[1] [2][3]The game was titled The Sumerian Game. It allowed the players to act as rulers of the Sumerian city of Lagash. This was effectively the first ever video game established on a fully electronic computer. Subsequently, this made Addis the first writer for computer video games, as well as the first woman to design a video game.[1]

Personal life

Unfortunately, Mabel Addis’ husband died in 1981, leaving her widowed. She remarried in 1991 to Gerard Mergardt. Mergardt died in 1995, leaving Addis widowed once more. Addis passed away in 2004.[1][5]

References
  1. March 2020, Stacey Henley 08. "Remembering Mabel Addis, the first video game writer, on International Women's Day". gamesradar. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  2. "The Sumerian Game: The Most Important Video Game You've Never Heard Of – A Critical Hit!". A Critical Hit!. 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2019-09-13.
  3. "Three Women Who Shaped Modern Gaming". Extra Life. 2020-03-02. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  4. "NYGenWeb: Katonah, NY Genealogical Resources". sites.rootsweb.com. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  5. "MABEL MERGARDT Obituary (2004) - The Journal News". obits.lohud.com. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
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