I’m sure you’ve recognized by now that many of our most creative individuals never get the credit they deserve. Sometimes, it’s because what they developed or invented was marketed by a large firm, so the credit goes to the company. Sometimes, it’s because the inventor or developer is a typical engineer, who prefers to be left alone. There are a slew of other reasons, besides.

I always want to know who did what. Maybe because I hope others will spread the word about my designs, products, tax straddles, KPI innovations. Maybe because I like learning how folks did what they did- so I can learn how to do what I do better. And, maybe I can teach you how you can get into the act, too.

Which brings up Charles Thacker, who recently passed away. Chuck got his BS in Physics from Berkeley way back in 1967. He stuck around at Berkeley – and then joined PARC- the Xerox’ Palo Alto Research Center, which spun away from Berkeley.

Chuck created the Alto- the world’s first personal computer (1974). And, the ethernet LAN (those wired connections among computers). And, helped create the first laser printer.

And, as was true for most of the creative geniuses at PARC, he knew that industrial design- the cross between hardware and aesthetics- the look and feel of the object- was absolutely critical to success. He kept his designs simple, not loading them up with a plethora of parts, ensured there be a spiffy graphical interface (instead of text commands) and that it could work with a mouse (also a PARC invention).   Chuck railed and ranted against “biggerism”. (As a matter of fact, it was one of the few times he ever got loud.)

Thacker left PARC when Robert Taylor decided his time was up (1983). Taylor was no longer happy with Xerox management. (Many of us creative types pay attention to the heroes we have where we work; if they elect to suddenly depart, we recognize that we should be making similar plans.)

From PARC, he joined DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation), an MIT spin-off (which would explain why the computer in my office was a DEC PDP-8). (Yes, Taylor also made the switch to DEC, along with a slew of other talented PARC staff.) Thacker abandoned ship when Compaq took over DEC (and before Compaq was sucked up by Hewlett Packard) to join Microsoft in 1997.

Chuck invented the Tablet Computer- the one Microsoft kept promising but never actually delivered to the public.  (I kept waiting and waiting.)   This tablet built on the knowledge he acquired by developing the Dynabook (at PARC) and the Lectrice (that DEC was supposed to offer to the public.) (The Microsoft Surface is related to this design, but a distant cousin.) All this long before Steve Jobs dazzled you with his iPad in 2010. Long Before.

That’s what Chuck did. He created devices long before the rest of us knew what we wanted or needed. (Now you know why he intrigues me!) That’s why he was at PARC. He knew that computers weren’t just fast adding or thinking machines, but methods of communicating thoughts and ideas among folks. (That also explains his ethernet work.)

The Association of Computing Machinery awarded Chuck the A.M. Turing Award (2009). For those of us who work in applied science and engineering, we know the Nobel Prize is not within our reach- this prize is one of our equivalents.

Chuck had earlier shared the Charles Stark Draper Prize (2004) with Alan Kay (of KayPro computers), Robert Taylor, and Butler Lampson (another long time colleague of Chuck’s). The prize is awarded by the National Academy of Engineering, one of the other “Nobel Prizes” for engineering.

Chuck Thacker died last month at the age of 74. Esophogeal cancer got the better of him.

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