Ken Olsen

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For the Norwegian footballer, see Ken Bjørntvedt Olsen.
Kenneth Harry Olsen
Born(1926-02-20)February 20, 1926
Bridgeport, Connecticut
DiedFebruary 6, 2011(2011-02-06) (aged 84)[1]
Indianapolis, Indiana
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S., 1950; M.S., 1952)
OccupationEngineer
Known forFounding Digital Equipment Corporation with Harlan Anderson
Spouse
Eeva-Liisa Aulikki Olsen
​
​
(m. 1950; died 2009)​
Children3

Kenneth Harry Olsen (February 20, 1926[2] – February 6, 2011[3]) was an American engineer who co-founded Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1957 with colleague Harlan Anderson and his brother Stan Olsen.[4][5]

Background

Kenneth Harry Olsen was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up in the neighboring town of Stratford, Connecticut. His father's parents came from Norway and his mother's parents from Sweden. Olsen began his career working summers in a machine shop. Fixing radios in his basement gave him the reputation of a neighborhood inventor.

After serving in the United States Navy between 1944 and 1946, Olsen attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned both a BS (1950) and an MS (1952) degree in electrical engineering.[6]

Career

Pre-DEC

During his studies at MIT, the Office of Naval Research of the United States Department of the Navy recruited Olsen to help build a computerized flight simulator.[7] Also while at MIT, he directed the building of the first transistorized research computer, the TX-0. Olsen was an engineer who had been working at MIT Lincoln Laboratory on the TX-2 project.[8]

Olsen's most important connection to Project Whirlwind was his work on the Memory Test Computer (MTC), described as "a special purpose computer built to test core memory for the Whirlwind."[9] Unlike the 18-bit TX-0, which was "designed to be a predecessor for a larger 36 bit machine, the TX-2," Whirlwind and the MTC used 16 bits.[9]

Digital Equipment Corporation

In 1957, Olsen and an MIT colleague,

Jay W. Forrester is generally credited with inventing the first practical magnetic-core memory
).

Olsen was known throughout his career for his management style and his fostering of engineering innovation. Olsen's valuing of innovation and technical excellence spawned and popularized techniques such as engineering matrix management, that are broadly employed today throughout many industries.[10] Olsen valued humility, driving an economy car and keeping a simple office in an old mill building. He also was an accomplished pilot and flew his own plane.[11]

In 1977, referring to computers used in home automation at the dawn of the home computer era, Olsen is quoted as saying "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home."

Snopes.com, "the out-of-context misinterpretation of Olsen's comments is considered much more amusing and entertaining than what he really meant, so that is the version that has been promulgated for decades now".[17]

In 1986,

IEEE Engineering Leadership Recognition Award.[19] Olsen was the subject of a 1988 biography, The Ultimate Entrepreneur
: The Story of Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corporation written by Glenn Rifkin and George Harrar.

In 1993, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers awarded Olsen their IEEE Founders Medal.[citation needed]

He was inducted as a Fellow of the

Vermilye Medal in 1980. He was inducted as an Honorary Member of UPE (the International Honor Society for the Computing and Information Sciences) on October 8, 1975.[citation needed
]

In 2011, he was listed at #6 on the

MIT for his work on the minicomputer.[20]

Later career history

Commencing in 1987, Olsen in public appearances described UNIX as "

UNIX product on the VAX line of computers called Ultrix. However, this line never got enthusiastic comprehensive support at DEC.[citation needed
]

Olsen was forced to retire from DEC, stepping down as president in 1992.

The Family, a religious and political organization.[25]

Olsen was a trustee of Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts.[26] There, the Ken Olsen Science Center was named after him in 2006,[27] and dedicated on 27 September 2008. Its lobby features a Digital Loggia of Technology, documenting Digital's technology and history, and an interactive kiosk to which former employees have submitted their stories.

Death

Olsen died while in

Indianapolis, Indiana on February 6, 2011, aged 84. Gordon College, where he was a trustee and board member, announced his death, but did not reveal the cause.[3][28] His family also did not comment on any details surrounding his death.[2]

Awards

See also

References

  1. ^ Krazit, Tom (February 7, 2011). "Ken Olsen, founder of DEC, dead at 84". CNet News. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Rifkin, Glenn (February 7, 2011). "Ken Olsen, Founder of DEC, Dies at 84". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b "Computer Pioneer Ken Olsen Dies at Age 84". ABC News. Associated Press. February 8, 2011.
  4. ^ "Digital Equipment Corporation. Nineteen Fifty Seven To The Present" (PDF). Digital Equipment Corporation, 1978. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  5. ^ National Inventor's Hall of Fame profile Archived 2010-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ISBN 978-1-59139-813-4
    .
  7. ^ The citation says Air Force/back then was part of something else. "NIHF Inductee Kenneth Olsen Invented Magnetic Core Memory". The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF). Retrieved August 17, 2021. While at MIT, Olsen was recruited by the Air Force to help build a computerized flight simulator
  8. ISBN 9780262019095
    .
  9. ^
    HARDCOPY
    . pp. 12–19. Whirlwind ... from a historical standpoint .. people are a very important factor .. Ken Olsen .. Ben Gurley
  10. ^ See remarks by Win Hindle about Ken's leadership.
  11. ^ a b Petre, Peter. "AMERICA'S MOST SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR". CNN FORTUNE Magazine archive. CNN. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  12. ^ "10 Most Memorable Tech CEOs of the Digital Era". PCMAG. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  13. ^ Jack Schofield (9 February 2011). "Ken Olsen obituary". the Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  14. ^ a b Alex Bracetti (14 January 2013). "The Spam Crisis Solved? - The 25 Craziest Things Ever Said by Tech CEOs - Complex". Complex. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Quote Details: Ken Olsen: There is no reason... - The Quotations Page". The Quotations Page. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  16. ^ Ashley Lutz (2 May 2012). "False Predictions - Business Insider". Business Insider. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  17. ^ "Ken Olsen". Snopes.com. Snopes. 27 September 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  18. Boston Globe
    , January 27, 1998, p.c1.
  19. ^ "IEEE Ernst Weber Engineering Leadership Recognition Recipients" (PDF). IEEE. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 19, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  20. ^ "The MIT 150". Boston.com. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  21. ^ Gibson, Stanley (April 4, 1988). "Olsen Poses Slick Question". ComputerWorld. Vol. XXII, no. 14. p. 43. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  22. ^ Johnson, Maryfran (February 11, 1991). "UNIX: DEC's Flavor of the Year". Computerworld. Vol. XV, no. 6. p. 91. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  23. ^ Marquard, Bryan; Bray, Hiawatha (2011-02-08). "Computer pioneer Ken Olsen dies". Boston.com. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  24. ^ "Ken Olsen, Who Built DEC Into a Power, Dies at 84". The New York Times. February 2011.
  25. ^ Sharlet, Jeff (March 2003). "Jesus plus nothing: Undercover among America's secret theocrats". Harpers Magazine.
  26. ^ "Digital". decconnection.org. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  27. ^ "Salute to Ken Olsen — Gordon Hosts Tribute to Massachusetts Technology Icon". Gordon College.
  28. ^ Albanesius, Chloe (February 8, 2011). "Computing Pioneer Ken Olsen Dead at 84". PCMag.com.
  29. ^ CHM. "Ken Olsen — CHM Fellow Award Winner". Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015."Ken Olsen | Computer History Museum". Archived from the original on 2015-04-03. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  30. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved August 17, 2021.

Further reading

Wikiquote has quotations related to Ken Olsen.

Archives and records

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