Title
National Semiconductor oral history : Charles E. SporckCatalog Number
102740001Type
Moving imageDescription
Charles Sporck grew up in Saranac NY where his father was a cab driver. Under the tutelage of his father and a neighbor, Charlie became and expert auto mechanic. After serving in the Army, he pursued a degree in Mechanical engineering at Cornell University. While there, he pursued a degree in mechanical engineering. The University had a work-study (coop) program whereby he would periodically spend 3 months working at one of the General Electric plants around the country, getting hands on experience with real world jobs. In fact, upon graduation in 1950, Sporck went to work for GE for 9 years.He eventually tired of the large company challenges and wanted to work in a different kind of corporate environment. He saw an ad for a production manager at Fairchild Semiconductor in Mt. View CA. He applied, was interviewed in NY for the job, and made his way to California to assume the position. Although he knew nothing about semiconductors at the time, he had plenty of manufacturing and management experience and rose quickly though the ranks.
He made a number of important contributions to Fairchild, including the establishment of the first overseas test and assembly operation in the semiconductor industry. While at Fairchild he rose to the position of General Manager. However in 1967, he decided to leave Fairchild and take the reins of a struggling company called National Semiconductor. He served as CEO of National until 1991, at which point he retired.
This oral history is an important insight into the early days of the semiconductor industry and how it dealt with the many internal and external challenges faced by that industry as it grew.
Date
2014-11-21Participants
| Dennis, Eric, Videographer |
| Kvamme, Floyd, Interviewer |
| Sporck, Charles E., Interviewee |
Publisher
Computer History MuseumPlace of Publication
Mountain View, CaliforniaFormat
MOVCopyright Holder
Computer History MuseumCategory
Oral historySubject
National semiconductor; Noyce, Robert; Moore, Gordon; Hoerni, Jean; Fairchild Semiconductor; Blank, Julius; Widlar, BobCollection Title
Oral history collectionSeries Title
Silicon Valley 360 : National SemiconductorCredit
Computer History MuseumLot Number
X7310.2015Related Records
| 102740002 | National Semiconductor oral history : Charles E. Sporck |