Richard Merrill was a

Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president until ...

employee who invented the

FOCAL Focal or FOCAL may refer to: *Focal (lexicographical website), an Irish lexicographical website *FOCAL (programming language), a programming language for the PDP-8 and similar machines * Focal (HP-41), for programming HP calculators * FOCAL (space ...

programming language and programmed the first two interpreters for the language in 1968 and 1969, for the

PDP-8 The PDP-8 is a family of 12-bit minicomputers that was produced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). It was the first commercially successful minicomputer, with over 50,000 units sold during the model's lifetime. Its basic design follows the pi ...

. He also developed later versions of the interpreter for the

PDP-7 The PDP-7 is an 18-bit computing, 18-bit minicomputer produced by Digital Equipment Corporation as part of the Programmed Data Processor, PDP series. Introduced in 1964, shipped since 1965, it was the first to use their Flip-Chip module, Flip- ...

and

PDP-9 The PDP-9, the fourth of the five 18-bit minicomputers produced by Digital Equipment Corporation, was introduced in 1966. A total of 445 PDP-9 systems were produced, of which 40 were the compact, low-cost PDP-9/L units.. History The 18-bit PDP ...

, later ported it to the

PDP-11 The PDP–11 is a series of 16-bit minicomputers originally sold by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) from 1970 into the late 1990s, one of a set of products in the Programmed Data Processor (PDP) series. In total, around 600,000 PDP-11s of a ...

. Merrill also designed and programmed the EDIT-8 text editor (using paper-tape).Who's Who
Rick Merrill is an alumnus of Episcopal High School, a preparatory school in Alexandria, VA and of M.I.T BS'63 MS'65 and Clark University MBA'85

References

Year of birth missing (living people) American computer scientists Digital Equipment Corporation people Programming language designers Living people {{US-compu-bio-stub