Jack Kilby 1923 -2005

(Dallas, Texas) Born in Great Bend, Kansas, in 1923, Jack St. Clair Kilby was an engineer, scientist, and inventor. For many years, he worked for Texas Instruments and, in 1959, he patented an integrated circuit device made with germanium. His legacy is the explosion in Information Technology we now enjoy. Yesterday, Texas Instruments CEO Tom Engibous said,

"In my opinion, there are only a handful of people whose works have truly transformed the world and the way we live in it - Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers and Jack Kilby."

"If there was ever a seminal invention that transformed not only our industry but our world, it was Jack's invention of the first integrated circuit."

For his creation, Kilby was deservedly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000.

Jack Kilby died Monday at his home in Dallas. He was 81.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.