Gary Kildall

Gary Kildall
Born(1942-05-19)May 19, 1942
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
DiedJuly 11, 1994(1994-07-11) (aged 52)
Resting placeEvergreen Washelli Memorial Park
Alma materUniversity of Washington[1][2]
Occupations
  • Computer scientist
  • entrepreneur
Years active1972–1994
Known for
TitleFounder, chairman and CEO of Digital Research
Board member ofDigital Research
Spouse(s)Dorothy McEwen Kildall
Karen Kildall[3]
ChildrenScott and Kristen[4]
Signature
Gary

Gary Arlen Kildall (/ˈkɪldˌɔːl/; May 19, 1942 – July 11, 1994) was an American computer scientist and microcomputer entrepreneur. During the 1970s, Kildall created the CP/M operating system among other operating systems and programming tools,[5] and subsequently founded Digital Research, Inc. (or "DRI") to market and sell his software products.

Gary A. Kildall information plaque Pacific Grove, California, 801 Lighthouse Avenue

In 1974 in Pacific Grove Kildall demonstrated the first working prototype of CP/M (Control Program for Microcomputer). Together with his invention of BIOS (Basic Input Output System), his operating system allowed a microprocessor-based computer to communicate with a disk storage[6]. Kildall was among the earliest individuals to recognize microprocessors as fully capable computers (rather than simply as equipment controllers), and to organize a company around this concept.[7] Due to his accomplishments during this era, Kildall is considered a pioneer of the personal computer revolution.[7][8]

During the 1980s, Kildall also appeared on PBS as co-host (with Stewart Cheifet) of Computer Chronicles, a weekly informational program which covered the latest developments in personal computing. Although Kildall's entrepreneurial career in computing spanned more than two decades, he is mainly remembered in connection with his development of the CP/M operating system, an early multi-platform microcomputer OS, to which the later MS-DOS used on the IBM PC has many parallels.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kildall_1968 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kildall_1972 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ O'Connor, Rory J. "PC pioneer Kildall dies in Monterey". wearcam.org. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Markoff_1994 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kildall_1993 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference KildallLegacy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Chronicles_1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Evans_2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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