[coldtea]

Well, Shannon yes.

Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Brian Kernighan, on the other hand, aren't of the same caliber as people like Shannon and Feynman (and the Manhattan project all-stars).

They've had a huge influence on programming, and on IT, but not always for the better from an academic and quality perspective (e.g. Worse is Better), and more as pragmatic hackers and tinkerers than deep thinkers.