An Wang

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This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wang (王).

Dr. An Wang (Chinese: 王安; pinyin: Wáng Ān; February 7, 1920 – March 24, 1990) was a Chinese American computer engineer and inventor, and co-founder of computer company Wang Laboratories.

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[edit] Early life and career

A native of Kunshan County in Suzhou Prefecture, he was born in Shanghai, China, and graduated from Jiaotong University with a degree in electrical engineering in 1940. He emigrated to the United States in June 1945 to attend Harvard University for graduate school, earning a PhD in applied physics in 1948. After graduation, he worked at Harvard with Dr Howard Aiken on the design of the Mark IV, Aiken's first fully electronic computer. Wang co-invented the pulse transfer controlling device with Way-Dong Woo, a schoolmate from China who fell ill before their patent was issued. The new device implemented write-after-read which made magnetic core memory possible. Harvard reduced its commitment to computer research in 1951, prompting Wang's departure[citation needed].

Wang founded Wang Laboratories in June 1951 as a sole proprietorship. The first years were lean and Wang raised $50,000 working capital by selling one third of the company to textile machinery manufacturer Warner & Swasey Company. In 1955 when the core memory patent was issued, Wang sold it to IBM for $500,000 and incorporated Wang Laboratories with Dr Ge-Yao Chu, another school mate. The company grew slowly and in 1964 sales reached $1,000,000. Wang began making desktop electronic calculators with digital displays, including a centralised calculator with remote terminals for group use. By 1970 the company had sales of $27 million and 1400 employees. They began manufacturing word processors in 1976 based on the Wang 2200, one of the first desktop computers with a large CRT display. The Wang VS system was a multiuser minicomputer supposedly based on the design of the System/370.

In addition to calculators and word processors, Wang's company diversified into minicomputers in the early 1970s. Wang Laboratories, which in 1989 employed over 30,000 people, was headquartered in Tewksbury, Massachusetts and later Lowell, Massachusetts. When Wang looked to retire from actively running his company in 1986, he insisted upon handing over the corporate reins to his son Fred Wang. Hard times ensued for the company and the elder Wang was eventually forced to remove his son in 1989.

[edit] Later years

An Wang also founded the Wang Institute of Graduate Studies in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts which offered a graduate program in Software Engineering. He made substantial donations to this organization, including the proceeds of his autobiography, Lessons. However, enrollment remained low, and in 1987, after nearly a decade of operation, Dr. Wang decided to discontinue funding the institution and transferred ownership of the campus to Boston University.

An Wang also made a substantial contribution for the restoration of a Boston landmark, which was then called the Metropolitan Theatre. The "Met" was renamed in 1983 as The Wang Theatre, and the Metropolitan Center became known as the Wang Center for the Performing Arts.

When An Wang died of cancer in 1990 he left behind an impressive technical and philanthropic legacy. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1988. The "Dr. An Wang Middle School" in Lowell, Massachusetts is named in his honor, as is the An Wang Professorship of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Harvard University, held by Prof. Roger W. Brockett.

He and his second wife Loraine lived in Lincoln, Massachusetts where she still lives. Their three children are Fred, Courtney, who runs a Dallas-area regional ISP, OnLine Today, and Juliet, an EMT.

[edit] See also

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[edit] External links

[edit] Patents