Richard Grimsdale
Encyclopedia
Richard Lawrence Grimsdale (18 September 1929 – 6 December 2005) was a British
electrical engineer and computer pioneer who helped to design the world's first transistorised
computer
.
, where his father, an English engineer, was working on a project for the Metropolitan-Vickers
company. The family returned to England, where Richard studied electrical engineering at Manchester University, graduating in 1950.
, the world's first computer made from transistor
s rather than valves or electromechanical devices. The computer used early point-contact transistors which were the first generation of transistors, however later developments of the machine used more advanced junction transistors which offered better performance.
Grimsdale also worked on the Ferranti Mark I
computer, a commercial development of the Manchester Mark 1
computer. He also designed the 100-nanosecond read-only memory for the Atlas computer.
Grimsdale remained at Manchester University until 1960, then began to work at Associated Electrical Industries
as a research engineer.
In 1967 Grimsdale left AEI and joined the Sussex University's electrical engineering faculty as a lecturer. His research at Sussex University included work on computer graphics, computer networking systems and VLSI accelerator chips for generating three-dimensional images.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
electrical engineer and computer pioneer who helped to design the world's first transistorised
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
.
Early life
Richard Grimsdale was born in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where his father, an English engineer, was working on a project for the Metropolitan-Vickers
Metropolitan-Vickers
Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, they were particularly well known for their industrial electrical equipment such as generators, steam...
company. The family returned to England, where Richard studied electrical engineering at Manchester University, graduating in 1950.
Career
In 1953, whilst still a post-graduate research student at Manchester University, Grimsdale achieved one of the first major landmarks in his career with his design and development work on the Metrovick 950Metrovick 950
The Metrovick 950 was a transistorized computer, built from 1956 onwards by British company Metropolitan-Vickers, to the extent of six or seven machines, which were "used commercially within the company" or "mainly for internal use"...
, the world's first computer made from transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
s rather than valves or electromechanical devices. The computer used early point-contact transistors which were the first generation of transistors, however later developments of the machine used more advanced junction transistors which offered better performance.
Grimsdale also worked on the Ferranti Mark I
Ferranti Mark I
The Ferranti Mark 1, also known as the Manchester Electronic Computer in its sales literature, and thus sometimes called the Manchester Ferranti, was the world's first commercially available general-purpose electronic computer...
computer, a commercial development of the Manchester Mark 1
Manchester Mark 1
The Manchester Mark 1 was one of the earliest stored-program computers, developed at the Victoria University of Manchester from the Small-Scale Experimental Machine or "Baby" . It was also called the Manchester Automatic Digital Machine, or MADM...
computer. He also designed the 100-nanosecond read-only memory for the Atlas computer.
Grimsdale remained at Manchester University until 1960, then began to work at Associated Electrical Industries
Associated Electrical Industries
Associated Electrical Industries was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies...
as a research engineer.
In 1967 Grimsdale left AEI and joined the Sussex University's electrical engineering faculty as a lecturer. His research at Sussex University included work on computer graphics, computer networking systems and VLSI accelerator chips for generating three-dimensional images.
Further References
- Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
article about Richard Grimsdale - Obituary in The Telegraph
- New York Times obituary, published 29 December 2005