Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

A. K. Erlang
     
         (1878-1929) A Danish mathematician.  {Erlang} the
        language and unit were named after him.
     
        Interested in the theory of probability, in 1908 Erlang joined
        the Copenhagen Telephone Company where he studied the problem
        of waiting times for telephone calls.
     
        He worked out how to calculate the fraction of callers
        who must wait due to all the lines of an exchange being in
        use.  His formula for loss and waiting time was published in
        1917.  It is now known as the "Erlang formula" and is still
        in use today.
     
        {Biography
       
     (http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Erlang.html)},
        {Biography
        (http://pass.maths.org.uk/issue2/erlang/index.html)}.
     
        [What was his name?]
     
        (2000-10-28)