Harlan Anderson

American computer engineer and entrepreneur (1929–2019)

Harlan E. Anderson (October 15, 1929 – January 30, 2019) was an American engineer and entrepreneur, best known for co-founding, together with Ken Olsen, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), which later became the second-largest computer company in the world. Other notable entities that Anderson has been associated with include Lincoln Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a member of the technical staff.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Harlan Anderson (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Oct 15, 1929, died Jan 30, 2019.¹

About

He served as Director of Technology for Time, Inc., where he spearheaded their evaluation of the future of the printed word during the explosion of television, long before the Internet existed.

Anderson participated in early stage financing for over 20 small technology companies. He was a trustee of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) for 16 years. He was a member of the Board of Advisors of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois, and a trustee of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Anderson was the author of the autobiography entitled, Learn, Earn & Return: My Life as a Computer Pioneer.

From Wikipedia’s article on Harlan Anderson, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

Digital Equipment CorporationFounder¹¹

Early life and education

Date not recordedUniversity of Illinois System³

Anderson earned both a B.S. and M.S. in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the early 1950s, where he became interested in computers. He took programming courses for the ILLIAC I computer, which was under construction at this time. The courses were taught by the computer pioneer, David Wheeler of the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. He received a B.S. degree in Engineering Physics and a master's in Physics in 1951 and 1952 respectively.

From Wikipedia’s article on Harlan Anderson (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: engineer.^{6 7}

1957 to 1966Worked at Digital Equipment Corporation⁴
Date not recordedWorked at Time Inc.⁴
Date not recordedFounded Digital Equipment Corporation⁵

Personal life

BornOct 15, 1929, Freeport⁸
DiedJan 30, 2019, New Canaan⁹
CitizenshipUnited States¹⁰

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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WikidataHarlan Anderson on Wikidata
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WikipediaHarlan Anderson on Wikipedia
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WikidataHarlan Anderson: education, on Wikidata
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WikidataHarlan Anderson: Worked at Time Inc., on Wikidata
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WikidataHarlan Anderson: Founded Digital Equipment Corporation, on Wikidata
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WikidataHarlan Anderson: occupation, on Wikidata
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Wikidataoccupation, as reported
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WikidataHarlan Anderson: place of birth, on Wikidata
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WikidataHarlan Anderson: place of death, on Wikidata
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WikidataHarlan Anderson: citizenship, on Wikidata
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WikidataDigital Equipment Corporation, Founder