Gary Kildall

Gary Kildall
Kildall at the European Development Centre (EDC) in Hungerford, United Kingdom, 1988
Born(1942-05-19)May 19, 1942
Seattle, Washington
DiedJuly 11, 1994(1994-07-11) (aged 52)
Monterey, California
Resting placeEvergreen Washelli Memorial Park[citation needed]
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]
Children2, including Scott[4]

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. to market and sell his software products.

Kildall information plaque Pacific Grove, California

In 1974 in Pacific Grove, Kildall demonstrated the first working prototype of CP/M. Together with his invention of the 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.[7] He is considered a pioneer of the personal computer revolution.[7][8]

During the 1980s, Kildall appeared on PBS as co-host (with Stewart Cheifet) of Computer Chronicles, a weekly informational program that covered the latest developments in personal computing.

  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).