Nicolas Hammond
Encyclopedia
Nicolas Hammond is a British
author
, Rubik's cube
expert, bridge
player and businessman. He has lived in America
since 1986. He made the world's first Internet banking transaction http://www.njh.com/fun/first_internet_banking_transaction.html.
, England.
He was awarded an academic scholarship to Nottingham High School
and an academic scholarship to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
where he earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1986 and was awarded a master's degree
in 1990.
Hammond has been married to Stephanie Kinsey since 1998; they have two sons and one daughter.
in 1979 by Peter Horrill, head of mathematics at Nottingham High School
.
The early cubes often broke and Hammond started corresponding with David Singmaster
who was importing and selling Rubik's cube
s.
Singmaster
wrote how fast Hammond was solving the Rubik's Cube (28 seconds)
in his Rubik's Notes and later in his Cubic Circular he was a star a football
http://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/cubic1.htm.
By 1980, Hammond had the fastest times for solving the Rubik's Cube.
Reader's Digest
, Scientific American
(March 1981) and TIME Magazine (March 1981) covered Hammond as one of the world's first cube-meisters.
Hammond was the fastest qualifier for the first British Rubik's Cube Championship when he won the Midlands
heat of the British Rubik's Cube Championship with a time of 35.38 seconds but did not win the event.
Hammond used a computer to determine an upper bound for the Rubik's Cube U group of 21 moves.
with Erno Rubik
and solved the
Rubik's Cube
in 37 seconds.
This was the first solving of the Rubik's Cube
on national television in England.
Two weeks later, five others tried to beat this time, the closest was 57 seconds.
Hammond solved the cube on other television shows including
The Paul Daniels Magic Show
,
Midlands Today
,
ATV Today
,
as well as appearing on
The Adventure Game
with Graeme Garden
, Carol Chell
and Lesley Judd
on November 2, 1981.
In December 2006, almost 25 years after his first appearance on TV, Hammond appeared on It Started With Swap Shop
and solved the
Rubik's cube
in 36 seconds.
The book describes the various techniques that Hammond uses to solve the cube.
It is based on the bottom, middle, upper layer approach and includes tables to help improve speed.
The book also includes a simple, five move, solution to solve the Rubik's Cube
http://www.njh.com/rubiks_cube/index.html.
in 1999. He is semi-retired.
(GFHA) in February 1991.
He was one of the English speaking stadium announcers for hockey
in the 1996 Summer Olympics
in Atlanta and announced the men's final.
He umpired a friendly women's international game between Spain and USA in 1995.
Hammond won the Sally Young Life Master Open Pairs at the American Contract Bridge League
(ACBL) National
tournament in Atlanta in 2005.
Hammond finished second in the Victor Daly KO Teams event at the summer American Bridge Association
(ABA) national event in 2006.
In 2006, Hammond won the Mini-Spingold
II KO teams event at the ACBL
National
tournament in Chicago. His team was runner-up the previous year.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, Rubik's cube
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
expert, bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
player and businessman. He has lived in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since 1986. He made the world's first Internet banking transaction http://www.njh.com/fun/first_internet_banking_transaction.html.
Early life
Nicolas Hammond was born in Attenborough, NottinghamshireAttenborough, Nottinghamshire
Attenborough is a village and a suburb in the Broxtowe borough of Nottinghamshire. It forms part of Greater Nottingham, and is to the southwest of Nottingham, between Long Eaton and Beeston...
, England.
He was awarded an academic scholarship to Nottingham High School
Nottingham High School
Nottingham High School is a British boys' independent school situated about a mile north of Nottingham city centre. It has around 900 pupils from ages 11 to 18 and there is the adjoining Nottingham High Junior School catering for younger boys and, from September 2008, the Lovell House...
and an academic scholarship to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
where he earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1986 and was awarded a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1990.
Hammond has been married to Stephanie Kinsey since 1998; they have two sons and one daughter.
Rubik's Cube
Hammond was introduced to the Rubik's CubeRubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
in 1979 by Peter Horrill, head of mathematics at Nottingham High School
Nottingham High School
Nottingham High School is a British boys' independent school situated about a mile north of Nottingham city centre. It has around 900 pupils from ages 11 to 18 and there is the adjoining Nottingham High Junior School catering for younger boys and, from September 2008, the Lovell House...
.
The early cubes often broke and Hammond started corresponding with David Singmaster
David Singmaster
David Breyer Singmaster is a retired professor of mathematics at London South Bank University, England, UK. A self-described metagrobologist, he is most famous for his solution to the Rubik's cube and his huge personal collection of mechanical puzzles and books of brain teasers. He is also...
who was importing and selling Rubik's cube
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
s.
Singmaster
David Singmaster
David Breyer Singmaster is a retired professor of mathematics at London South Bank University, England, UK. A self-described metagrobologist, he is most famous for his solution to the Rubik's cube and his huge personal collection of mechanical puzzles and books of brain teasers. He is also...
wrote how fast Hammond was solving the Rubik's Cube (28 seconds)
in his Rubik's Notes and later in his Cubic Circular he was a star a football
http://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/cubic1.htm.
By 1980, Hammond had the fastest times for solving the Rubik's Cube.
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
, Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
(March 1981) and TIME Magazine (March 1981) covered Hammond as one of the world's first cube-meisters.
Hammond was the fastest qualifier for the first British Rubik's Cube Championship when he won the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
heat of the British Rubik's Cube Championship with a time of 35.38 seconds but did not win the event.
Hammond used a computer to determine an upper bound for the Rubik's Cube U group of 21 moves.
Television appearances
On January 24, 1981 http://www.jaapsch.net/puzzles/cubic1.htm, Hammond appeared on BBC TV's live Saturday morning show Multi-Coloured Swap ShopMulti-Coloured Swap Shop
Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, more commonly known simply as Swap Shop, is a UK children's television programme. It was broadcast on Saturday mornings on BBC1 for 146 episodes in six series between 1976 and 1982...
with Erno Rubik
Erno Rubik
Ernő Rubik is a Hungarian inventor, architect and professor of architecture. He is best known for the invention of mechanical puzzles including Rubik's Cube , Rubik's Magic, Rubik's Magic: Master Edition, Rubik's Snake and Rubik's 360....
and solved the
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
in 37 seconds.
This was the first solving of the Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
on national television in England.
Two weeks later, five others tried to beat this time, the closest was 57 seconds.
Hammond solved the cube on other television shows including
The Paul Daniels Magic Show
Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels, born Newton Edward Daniels on 6 April 1938, is a British magician and television performer. He achieved international fame through his television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994.-Early life:...
,
Midlands Today
Midlands Today
Midlands Today is the BBC's regional television news programme for the West Midlands region, which covers the north of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands county...
,
ATV Today
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
,
as well as appearing on
The Adventure Game
The Adventure Game
The Adventure Game was a game show, aimed at children but with an adult following, which was originally broadcast on UK television channels BBC1 and BBC2 between 24 May 1980 and 18 February 1986. The story in each show was that the two celebrity contestants and a member of the public had travelled...
with Graeme Garden
Graeme Garden
David Graeme Garden OBE is a Scottish author, actor, comedian, artist and television presenter, who first became known as a member of The Goodies.-Early life and beginnings in comedy:...
, Carol Chell
Carol Chell
Carol Chell is a British children's television presenter and TV executive. She originally qualified as a teacher, and produced many educational TV shows in the 1960s. She is best known for her work during the 1970s and 80's on BBC's Play School...
and Lesley Judd
Lesley Judd
Lesley Judd is an English dancer and TV presenter, best known as a long-serving host of the BBC children's programme Blue Peter. She was educated at the independent Royal Ballet School...
on November 2, 1981.
In December 2006, almost 25 years after his first appearance on TV, Hammond appeared on It Started With Swap Shop
Multi-Coloured Swap Shop
Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, more commonly known simply as Swap Shop, is a UK children's television programme. It was broadcast on Saturday mornings on BBC1 for 146 episodes in six series between 1976 and 1982...
and solved the
Rubik's cube
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
in 36 seconds.
Books
Hammond wrote the book How To Solve The Cube In 37 Seconds (1981), DRG Blackhall.The book describes the various techniques that Hammond uses to solve the cube.
It is based on the bottom, middle, upper layer approach and includes tables to help improve speed.
The book also includes a simple, five move, solution to solve the Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
http://www.njh.com/rubiks_cube/index.html.
Business
Hammond founded NJH Security Consulting, a company specializing in performing Internet security audits for banks, stockbrokers, stock markets in 1996. He also started Intelligent Shopping, a company that created software for purchasing highly secure products over the Internet in the same year. Both companies were sold to Internet Security SystemsInternet Security Systems
IBM Internet Security Systems is a security software provider which was founded in 1994 as Internet Security Systems, and is often known simply as ISS or ISSX...
in 1999. He is semi-retired.
Field hockey
Hammond started the Georgia Field Hockey AssociationGeorgia Field Hockey Association
Georgia Field Hockey Association promotes field hockey in Georgia, USA.It organizes a club hockey competition each year that attracts teams from around the world.The GFHA sends men's and women's teams to compete in tournaments around the country....
(GFHA) in February 1991.
He was one of the English speaking stadium announcers for hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
in the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
in Atlanta and announced the men's final.
He umpired a friendly women's international game between Spain and USA in 1995.
Bridge
Hammond started playing competitive bridge in 2002.Hammond won the Sally Young Life Master Open Pairs at the American Contract Bridge League
American Contract Bridge League
The American Contract Bridge League is the largest contract bridge organization in North America. It promotes the game of bridge in the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, and Canada, and is a member of the World Bridge Federation...
(ACBL) National
North American Bridge Championships
North American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
tournament in Atlanta in 2005.
Hammond finished second in the Victor Daly KO Teams event at the summer American Bridge Association
American Bridge Association
The American Bridge Association is a bridge organization in North America.The ABA was formed in 1932 by black tennis players at Buckroe Beach, Virginia...
(ABA) national event in 2006.
In 2006, Hammond won the Mini-Spingold
Mini-Spingold
Mini-Spingold national bridge championships are held at the summer American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship . They were introduced in 2001 and are held at the same time as the main Spingold knockout team championship....
II KO teams event at the ACBL
American Contract Bridge League
The American Contract Bridge League is the largest contract bridge organization in North America. It promotes the game of bridge in the United States, Mexico, Bermuda, and Canada, and is a member of the World Bridge Federation...
National
North American Bridge Championships
North American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
tournament in Chicago. His team was runner-up the previous year.
Trivia
- Hammond set up the security of the world's first Internet bank and made the first Internet web banking transaction (paying a phone bill on August 15, 1995).http://www.njh.com/fun/first_internet_banking_transaction.html