Philip Donald Estridge (June 23, 1937 – August 2, 1985), known as Don Estridge, was an American computer engineer who led development of the original
IBM Personal Computer
The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a tea ...
(PC), and thus is known as the "father of the IBM PC". His decisions dramatically changed the computer industry, resulting in a vast increase in sales of personal computers, thus creating an entire industry of
hardware manufacturers of IBM PCs.
Early life
Estridge was born in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which th ...
. His father was a professional photographer. He graduated from
Bishop Kenny High School
Bishop Kenny High School (commonly referred to as Bishop Kenny or BKHS) is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational Catholic high school in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located in and administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augusti ...
in 1955, and from the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
in 1959. He married Mary Ann Hellier in September, 1958, and they had three children: Patricia Ann, Mary Evelyn and Sandra Marie. He completed a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...
in electrical engineering at the University of Florida and worked at the Army, designing a radar system using computers, IBM and finally
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
's
Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...
until he moved to
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...
, in 1969.
IBM
Before being the leader of the team to develop the IBM PC he had been the lead manager for the development of the
IBM Series/1
The IBM Series/1 is a 16-bit minicomputer, introduced in 1976, that in many respects competed with other minicomputers of the time, such as the PDP-11 from Digital Equipment Corporation and similar offerings from Data General and HP. The Se ...
mini-computer. After this project, in 1979, he was assigned to manage a Series /1 special bid development group. This engineering and planning organization was responsible for responding to custom system solutions requested by large account sales and marketing representatives. One of the largest and most successful special bids ever won by IBM was the Series /1 Agent Computer System for the
State Farm
State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois.
Overview
State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the lar ...
Insurance company. In mid-1980, he was rewarded with the opportunity to lead IBM's efforts in the emerging personal computer business.
His efforts to develop the IBM PC began when he took control of the IBM Entry Level Systems in 1980 (and was later named president of the newly formed IBM Entry Systems Division (ESD) in August 1983), with the goal of developing a low-cost personal computer to compete against increasingly popular offerings from the likes of
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
,
Commodore International
Commodore International (other names include Commodore International Limited) was an American home computer and electronics manufacturer founded by Jack Tramiel. Commodore International (CI), along with its subsidiary Commodore Business Mac ...
, and other perceived IBM competitors. To create a cost-effective alternative to those companies' products, Estridge realized that it would be necessary to rely on third-party hardware and software. This was a marked departure from previous IBM strategy, which centered on in-house vertical development of complicated mainframe systems and their requisite access terminals. Estridge also published the specifications of the IBM PC, allowing a booming third-party aftermarket hardware business to take advantage of the machine's expansion card slots.
The competitive cost and expandability options of the first model, the
IBM PC model 5150, as well as IBM's reputation, led to strong sales to both enterprise and home customers. Estridge was rapidly promoted, and by 1984 was IBM Vice President, Manufacturing, supervising all manufacturing worldwide.
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; ...
offered Estridge a multimillion-dollar job as president of Apple Computer but he declined.
Death and legacy
Estridge and wife Mary Ann were killed in the crash of
Delta Air Lines Flight 191 at
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas.
It is the largest hub for American Ai ...
on August 2, 1985.
["Slammed To The Ground." '']Mayday
Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications.
It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiz ...
''. He was 48 years old. At the time of his death, IBM ESD, which included the development and manufacturing of the IBM PC,
PC DOS
PC or pc may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Player character or playable character, a fictional character controlled by a human player, usually in role-playing games or computer games
* '' Port Charles'', an American daytime TV soap opera
* ...
, PC LAN and
TopView
TopView is the first object-oriented, multitasking, and windowing, personal computer operating environment for PC DOS developed by IBM, announced in August 1984 and shipped in March 1985. TopView provided a text-mode (although it also ran in g ...
, had nearly 10,000 employees and had sold over a million PCs.
Estridge has been honored many times. In 1999, he was identified in ''CIO'' magazine as one of the people who "invented the enterprise". The
Don Estridge High-Tech Middle School — formerly IBM Facility Building 051 — in Boca Raton, Florida, is named after him, and on the occasion of its dedication received from Don Estridge's family his personal IBM 5150 computer machines.
References
External links
* , Jan Winston, CIO Magazine, Dec. 15, 1999/Jan. 1 2000. Part o
Inventing the EnterpriseView from the Topby Michael J. Miller, PC Magazine, 09.04.01
The History Of The IBM Personal Computer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estridge, Philip Donald
1937 births
1985 deaths
University of Florida College of Engineering alumni
People from Jacksonville, Florida
IBM employees
Bishop Kenny High School alumni
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1985
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
Accidental deaths in Texas