Jerry Lawson (engineer)

Gerald Anderson "Jerry" Lawson (December 1, 1940 – April 9, 2011) was an American electronic engineer. He was known for his work in designing the Fairchild Channel F video game console.

Jerry Lawson
Born	(1940-12-01)December 1, 1940 Brooklyn, New York
Died	April 9, 2011(2011-04-09) (aged 70) Mountain View, California
Alma mater	Queens College
Occupation	Computer engineer
Children	2

Early life

Jerry Lawson was born on December 1, 1940. His father was a longshoreman. His mother worked for New York City and as a member of a PTA. He had one brother, Michael. To earn money, Lawson dabbled in electronics. He repaired televisions. Lawson attended Queen College, which is part of City University of New York.

Public life

Lawson was a member of the Silicon Valley Homebrew Computer Club in the 1970s. He met many of the pioneers of personal computing, like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the founders of Apple Computer. In 1976. Lawson was the director of engineering and marketing at Fairchild Semiconductor. At that time, he developed a video game console called Fairchild Channel F. The console was the first which could play multiple games instead of one, marking his name permanently in history.

Death

On Mountain View, California, At the age of 70, Lawson died from complications with diabetes.

Source

• "Jerry Lawson". Biography.com. 2015. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.