William Stewart is an extremely accomplished man who has made a name for himself both as an actor and director. Looking over his illustrious resume, you’ll notice that he has won almost every single award there is in the
William Stewart Biography
William Stewart was born on December 22, 1945, in Coventry, England. He attended the University of East Anglia and obtained a degree in mathematics. Stewart joined the British Army in 1967 and served as a cryptographer for three years. He moved to the United States in 1972 and began working as a mathematician at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Stewart retired from his job at Bell Laboratories in 2000 and currently resides in Arlington, Virginia. Stewart has published several papers on mathematics and cryptography. In 2001, he was awarded the prestigious Turing Award for his work on cryptography.
Early Life
William Stewart was born in December 1978, in Scottsdale, Arizona, to Lynne and Jerry Stewart. Growing up, William enjoyed playing hockey and participating in athletics; he was also involved in theater and choir. After obtaining his degree in Asian Studies from the University of California at Berkeley, William worked as a journalist for several magazines and newspapers before becoming a freelance writer in 2009. In 2012, he published his first book, A Life in China: The New American Dream.
In late 2013, William and his wife moved to Beijing to work on a second book. Since then, he has written regularly about his experiences living and working in China for publications such as The New York Times, National Geographic, Smithsonianmagazine, Foreign Policy magazine, The Daily Beast, Forbes Asia and The Wall Street Journal China blog.
Blog Section: Contemporary Writing
The new book that William Stewart is currently working on tells the story of two families–one from Beijing and the other from suburban America–whose lives intersect during turbulent political years in China between 2008 and 2020. Shot over twelve months while the author was living with one family in Beijing and spending time with another family on their suburban American farmsteads between 2014-2016 as
Career on American Idol
Ever since his appearance on the popular American Idol show, William Stewart has been a household name. He started out as a contestant on the show in 2009, and eventually made it all the way to the top four. After his stint on the show, Stewart released two albums and embarked on several nationwide tours. He is now recognized as one of the pioneers of the modernIdol phenomenon and has impacted countless young singers along the way.
Celebrity and Media Wife
William Stewart is a Canadian entertainer who became well known in the 1990s as the husband of actress Leah Remini. The couple married in 1998 and have two children. Stewart also has a daughter from a previous relationship.
Entrepreneur Resulting in Microsoft Writings
William Stewart is a computer scientist, entrepreneur, and founder of Microsoft Research. Stewart was born in Glencoe, Illinois, on July 10, 1945. Upon completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1967. Stewart then pursued a Ph.D. in computer science at the University of California, Berkeley and was awarded his doctorate in 1971. After working as a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University from 1971 to 1972, Stewart joined the faculty at MIT where he remained for nearly two decades before being appointed senior vice president and research director for Microsoft Research in 1992. In that position, Stewart served as Microsoft’s primary liaison with the company’s research and development divisions. During this time, he played an instrumental role in the development of Windows NT (NT 4.0), Word, Excel, and Outlook. In 2002, Stewart retired from his position with Microsoft and joined the faculty at UC Berkeley as a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering.
Stewart has received numerous awards including the ACM Award for Computing Development (1992), the IEEE Fellow Award (1996), and the Presidential Medal of Science (2008). William Stewart Biography
Other Jobs
William Stewart never stopped working. After retiring from the Air Force in 1987, he helped out his sons’ businesses and then opened his own. He loved to work with his hands, and found a new passion in building furniture. In 2004, he completed his first chair–a simple wooden chair that he liked to call “Old Betsy.”
Stewart passed away on February 11, 2018 at the age of 98. His legacy will live on through his handmade furniture and the satisfaction that it has brought to people all over the world.