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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (September 2008) |
| Kenneth Harry Olsen | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 20, 1926 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Known for | Founding Digital Equipment Corporation with Harlan Anderson |
Kenneth Harry Olsen (born on February 20, 1926) is an American engineer who co-founded Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1957 with colleague Harlan Anderson and venture capital provided by Georges Doriot's American Research and Development Corporation. He was born in Stratford, Connecticut. Olsen was a Massachusetts engineer who had been working at MIT Lincoln Laboratory on the TX-2 project.
Ken Olsen was known throughout his career for his paternalistic management style and his fostering of engineering innovation. Ken 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.[1]
In 1986, Fortune Magazine named Olsen "America's most successful entrepreuner."[2] Olsen was the focus of a 1988 biography, "The Ultimate Entrepreneur: The Story of Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corporation," by Glenn Rifkin and George Harrar.
Olsen was a major contributor to The Family, a secretive, political Christian organization.[3]
Later career history
In 1987 he gave the first of his infamous 'snake oil speeches', taken by some to be referring indirectly to the "Unix Conspiracy".[4] While Olsen believed VMS was a better solution for DEC customers and often talked of the strengths of the system, he did approve and encourage an internal effort to produce a native BSD-based UNIX product on the VAX line of computers called Ultrix. However, this line never got enthusiastic comprehensive support at DEC.[citation needed]
Olsen retired from DEC in 1992. He subsequently became the chairman of Advanced Modular Solutions.
Olsen is a trustee of Gordon College (Massachusetts). The Ken Olsen Science Center was named after him in 2006.[5] 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.
He holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science[6] degrees in Electrical Engineering from MIT.
His most famous quote today "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." — Ken Olsen, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977.
References
- ^ See remarks by Win Hindle about Ken's leadership.
- ^ "The war lost, Digital surrenders," Boston Globe, January 27, 1998, p.c1.
- ^ Article, Harpers Magazine, March 2003.
- ^ Jargon File article: Unix Conspiracy.
- ^ Salute to Ken Olsen — Gordon Hosts Tribute to Massachusetts Technology Icon.
- ^ Jeffrey L. Cruikshank, Shaping the Waves: A History of Entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School, p. 108. ISBN 9781591398134.
External links
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