Title
Bell, Gordon interview
Catalog Number
102746646
Type
Document
Description
C. Gordon Bell is a legendary computer designer and architect. He received his B.S.E.E. (1956) and M.S.E.E. (1957) from M.I.T. In 1960, Kenneth Olsen and Harlan Anderson the co-founders of Digital Equipment Corporation (D.E.C.), recruited Bell to join their start-up. For the next six years (1960-1966), Bell made major contributions to the PDP-1, including designing the first UART chip. He was also the principal architect of the PDP-4 and PDP-6 computers. He then left D.E.C. to join the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University to teach computer science (1966-1972). In 1973, Bell rejoined D.E.C. where he became vice-president of engineering in charge of developing the VAX computer, D.E.C.’s most successful computer. Through out this period, Bell was also a member of the ARPA community. Tragically, Bell suffered a heart attack in 1983, and shortly thereafter resigned from D.E.C. Not content ‘taking it easy,’ he founded Encore Computer that advanced a state of computer design. Unsuccessful yet not discouraged, Bell next became one of the founders of Ardent Computers in 1986. In 1988 he became vice-president of R&D, the position he held when he agreed to sit for this interview.
Bell also gave me a valuable introduction to Stu Wecker, the creator of DECnet, who I would also interview. As I left his Ardent Computer office, I realized I had triggered his joy of teaching and his justifiable pride in his accomplishments with D.E.C. It had been a valuable use of my time as well as a lot of fun, to say nothing of how much I had learned.
Date
1988-06-17
Contributor
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Bell, Gordon C., interviewee
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Lynch, Daniel C., editor
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Pelkey, James L., interviewer, editor
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Publisher
Computer History Museum
Place of Publication
Cupertino, CA, USA
Extent
35 p.
Category
Transcription
Subject
ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network); Carnegie Mellon University; Pelkey, James L.; Tymshare; Telenet; Ethernet; Operational amplifier (op-amp); semiconductor; Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART); Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC); Bell Laboratories; Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO ); Interface Message Processor (IMP); Wecker, Stuart; DECnet; Metcalfe, Robert; Data General Corporation (DG); Liddle, David
Collection Title
James L. Pelkey collection : history of computer communications
Credit
Gift of James Pelkey
