Gary Kildall
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, and subsequently founded Digital Research, Inc. (or "DRI") to market and sell his software products.
Gary Kildall | |
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Kildall at the European Development Centre (EDC) in Hungerford, United Kingdom, 1988 | |
| Born | May 19, 1942 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | July 11, 1994 (aged 52) Monterey, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park |
| Alma mater | University of Washington |
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| Years active | 1972–1994 |
| Known for |
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| Title | Founder, chairman and CEO of Digital Research |
| Board member of | Digital Research |
| Spouse(s) | Dorothy McEwen Kildall Karen Kildall |
| Children | Scott and Kristen |
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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. 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. Due to his accomplishments during this era, Kildall is considered a pioneer of the personal computer revolution.
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.