As dang points out in this thread, The Tech Model Railroad Club was formed in 1946[1]. The TMRC dictionary was first written in 1959. http://www.gricer.com/tmr

As dang points out in this thread, The Tech Model Railroad Club was formed in 1946[1]. The TMRC dictionary was first written in 1959. http://www.gricer.com/tmrc/dictionary1959.html http://www.gricer.com/tmrc/dictionary1959.html The TMRC, which is generally cited as one of the origin points of MIT hacking culture, defines the following terms: HACK: 1) something done without constructive end; 2) a project under-taken on bad self-advice; 3) an entropy booster; 4) to produce, or attempt to produce, a hack. HACKER: one who hacks, or makes them. This predates the news article by 4 years. Also, you can't be a 'so-called hacker' unless people are already using the term. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club