Inventor: An Wang, MBA, Ph.D.

Digital Information Technology

“I founded Wang Laboratories to show that Chinese could excel at
things other than running laundries and restaurants.”

Inventor Snapshot:

In 1945, An Wang traded one revolution for another. The young computer scientist fled a political revolution in his homeland of China and immigrated to the United States where he and a handful of other computer pioneers began a technological revolution that would literally change the workings of the world.

While many can be credited for contributing to the invention of the computer, An Wang tops the list with 35 patents that truly revolutionized the information processing industry. His most notable invention, the “magnetic pulse transfer controlling device” not only allowed for reliable and organized computer memory, but also provided the foundation for the evolution of digital information technology that followed and continues today.

An Wang, who died in 1990, is remembered as a brilliant inventor and scientist whose generous philanthropic efforts continue to benefit the arts and the development of the sciences.

Inventor In-depth:

After losing much of his family during the Japanese invasion of China, An Wang fled Shanghai and immigrated to the United States in 1945.

Characteristic of many professional inventors, An Wang is described as “a fighter and free-spirited soul with a creative and brilliant mind”.

He received his BS from Chiao Tung University in Shanghai in 1940 and his Ph.D., in applied physics from Harvard University in 1948. Wang stayed for postdoctoral work at Harvard and later joined the staff. It was during this time that he invented the first and most notable of his 35 patented inventions, the magnetic pulse transfer controlling devise, which revolutionized the information processing industry by allowing reliable and organized computer memory.

It is reported that Wang started Wang Laboratories, Inc., in 1951 for the development of innovative electronics with only $600 in savings.

In 1955, six years after applying, Wang received a patent for his magnetic pulse technology, which he promptly sold to IBM for $50,000 to help fund the expansion of his business.

Wang’s relationship with ‘Big Blue’ was stormy and is said to have spurred deep feelings of competition in Wang during the years that followed as the computer came of age.

Wang spent years working on a steady progression of office electronic devises, all which were built upon his original invention.

Wang Laboratories, Inc., – The Early Years
Wang Laboratories, Inc., began with the production of a phototypesetter and quickly moved in to calculators. The LOCI-2 was introduced in 1965 and was the first desktop calculator to compute logarithms using single keystrokes. Despite the fact that the unit costs thousands of dollars and had stiff competition from the likes of Hewlett Packard, Wang thrived selling it to scientists, educators and financial centers.

In 1976, Wang took America by storm with the introduction of the Wang WPS (Word Processing System). It was hugely successful and was followed by the equally successful Wang OIS (Office Information System). These systems allowed a network of workers to have individual workstations with a centralized storage unit. Wang Laboratories, Inc., developed all of the software and hardware for the operating systems.

In 1979 Wang introduced the VS minicomputer, which quickly took the place of the OIS. This new unit was built for the general marketplace and competed with against the IBM 360 series.

During the 1980s, Wang Laboratories, Inc., was in its prime, employing 30,000 and banking $3 billion in sales annually

When Wang retired, he did not want his family to lose control of the business and chose to appoint his 36-year-old son Fred as president in 1986. By all accounts, Fred Wang was in over his head and the company began floundered. An Wang was forced to fire his son in 1989 and soon after Wang Laboratories filed for bankruptcy protection.

A few years later the company emerged as Wang Global, a network services company and in 1990 acquired the Olsy division of Olivetti. Then in 1999, Wang was bought out by Getronics N.V. of the Netherlands a larger network services company.

An Wang died of cancer in 1990. He is remembered as pioneer whose vision and brilliance brought our country into the computer age. He is also remembered as a philanthropist who believed in sharing his success. His contributions continue to benefit the arts and the development of the sciences.

Sources for this biography and links for learning more about An Wang:

www.about.com

Last updated: December 2005

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