Albert Alfred Hollander Sr., who spent more than three decades as an engineer in the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, died Friday, Feb. 7, at the South Shore Hospital. He was 95.
Hollander was a well-known and accomplished research engineer, inventor and sportsman. He graduated from Mechanics Arts High School in Boston and the Lowell Institute School at MIT. He went on to work in the Instrumentation Laboratory, later the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, from 1940 to 1974. He was involved at the onset of the Gyroscopic Inertial Guidance System for detecting weapons and controlling flight vehicles, and he was instrumental in the invention of the Mark XIV Gunsite used to defend Naval vessels. In 1960, he worked on the development of the Inertial Guidance System for the Apollo lunar landing, and worked on the MX Peacekeeper Guidance System and the IBM Trident Missile Guidance System.
Hollander was an avid sportsman and fisherman, and enjoyed boating and bass fishing especially at Popponessett Bay on Cape Cod. He invented a fishing reel device for backlash prevention called "A-Square" in 1949 that was sold all over the world to fishermen. He was a person who was known to be able to fix anything, and enjoyed doing so.
Hollander was born in Boston to Finnish parents, and was very proud of his ancestry. He had lived in Weymouth since 1938, and was a summer resident of Popponessett Island in Mashpee and wintered in Stuart, Fla.
Mr. Hollander is survived by three children, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His wife, Lillian, died in 2002; three grandchildren predeceased him.
A funeral service was held in February; memorial donations may be sent to the Salvation Army, 6 Baxter St., Quincy, MA 02169.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on April 2, 2008 (download PDF).
