(Gary Kildall 1942 - 1994)

With Retrochallenge well underway I again find myself deep in the world of CP/M, it therefore seems appropriate to mark the 17th anniversary of the untimely passing of Gary Kildall, its creator.  Much has been written about Gary Kildall and much of it seems contradictory or distorted by vested interests.

With varying stories surrounding both his death and his dealings with IBM, and as someone who only knows of Kildall through coming late to his work it seems appropriate to pull together some resources from others who knew Gary and have written eloquently about him.

Gary Kildall worked as a co-host with Stewart Cheifet on the Computer Chronicles nearly all of which can be accessed here:- Computer Chronicles.  There is an edition dedicated to the memory of Kildall here:- Computer Chronicles – Gary Kildall

Stewart Cheifet was interviewed by Earl Evans on the Retrobits Podcast and spoke at length about Gary, you can find it here:- Retrobits – Stewart Cheifet

A detailed account of Kildall’s work and his dealings with IBM and Microsoft can be found here:- The Gary Kildall Legacy

There’s a fairly recent article here entitled:- The Man Who Could Have Been Bill Gates

A moving Eulogy from Tom Rolander here:- Gary Kildall Eulogy

And lots more info and pictures on the same site:- Digital Research

What is clear to me is that Gary was liked by all who met him and that the personal computer industry as a whole owes him a great debt of gratitude for his enormous contribution.

More on Kildall and CP/M can of course be found on Wikipedia.