Profession: Physicist
Biography: Nobel recipient and one of the founding fathers of Silicon Valley, Shockley is remembered as a controversial figure owing to his views on the genetic differences between races.
In 1956 Shockley and three others were jointly awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics for "their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect."
Seeking to commercialise a new transistor design, Shockley launched his company "Shockley Semiconductor" in Palo Alto, 1956. Though the company was unsuccessful Shockley has been credited as being "the man who brought silicon to Silicon Valley."
In his later life Shockley's views on eugenics became more established, as preached a philosophy of ''retrogressive evolution.''
Born: February 13, 1910
Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom
Generation: Greatest Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Dog
Star Sign: Aquarius
Died: August 12, 1989 (aged 79)
Cause of Death: Prostate cancer
Married Life
- 1955-11-23 Physicist William Shockley (45) weds psychiatric nurse Emmy Lanning
Historical Events
- 1947-12-23 Transistor invented by John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley is first publicly demonstrated at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey
- 1951-07-05 Dr William Shockley invents the junction transistor at Murray Hill, New Jersey
- 1956-11-01 Nobel for physics awarded to William Shockley, Walter H. Brattain and John Bardeen
Biographies and Sources
- Silicon Valley's First Founder Was Its Worst - Wired
- William B. Shockley - Biographical - Nobel Prize
- William Shockley: Still controversial, after all these years - Stanford University
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