Charles Thacker

Updated: 10/01/2023 by Computer Hope
Charles Thacker

Name: Charles (Chuck) P. Thacker

Born: February 26, 1943, in Pasadena, California, USA

Death: June 12, 2017 (Age: 74)

Computer-related contributions

  • American pioneer computer designer.
  • Part of University Berkley's "Project Genie" in 1968, which developed the pioneering Berkeley Timesharing System on the SDS 940.
  • Helped design the processor and memory system.
  • Worked at PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), where he served as project leader of the Xerox Alto personal computer system.
  • Co-inventor of the Ethernet LAN (local area network), and contributed to other projects including the first laser printer.
  • Founder of DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation), the SRC (Systems Research Center).
  • Joined Microsoft Research to help establish Microsoft Research Cambridge in Cambridge, England.

Honors and awards

  • Inducted as a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (1994).
  • Named a Distinguished Alumnus in Computer Science at U.C. Berkeley (1996).
  • Won the Charles Stark Draper Prize together with Alan C. Kay, Butler W. Lampson, and Robert W. Taylor (2004).
  • Won the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) John von Neumann Medal for a central role in the creation of the personal computer and the development of networked computer systems (2007).
  • A Fellow of the Computer History Museum for "leading development of the Xerox PARC Alto, and for innovations in networked personal computer systems and laser printing technologies" (2007).
  • Named by the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) as the recipient of the 2009 Turing Award for his pioneering design and realization of the Alto (computer), the first modern personal computer.
  • Charles is also recognized for his contributions to the Ethernet and the tablet computer (2010).

Related computer pioneers