Life of William Shockley

Birth

Feb 13, 1910

William Shockley is born in London (Shampo et al. e43).

PhD

1936

Shockley earns his physics PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Shampo et al. e43).

Bell Labs

1936

Shockley is hired shortly after graduation by Bell Labs to find a cheaper, more stable replacement to vacuum tubes (Isaacson 137). Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bell_Labs_Holmdel.jpg

Wartime

1942

Midway through World War II, Shockley temporarily has to halt his work at Bell Labs to help with the war effort (Isaacson 138; Shampo et al. e43).

After the War

1945

After World War II ended, Shockley and his team at Bell Labs continue to search for a solid-state alternative to vacuum tubes (Isaacson 139).

Point-contact Transistor

1947

Shockley and his team create the first working point-contact transistor (Isaacson 143-144).

Junction Transistor

1948

After his team made with first transistor, Shockley works privately for a few months to come up with an improved variant, the junction transistor (Isaacson 146-147). Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NPN_BJT_Basic_Operation_(Active)_jP.svg

Regency Radio

1954

The Regency radio is released by Pat Haggerty, showcasing the impact that transistors would have in the personal electronics market (Isaacson 150-151).
Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vintage_Regency_TR-1_Transistor_Radio,_Mahogany_Color,_4_Transistors,_Made_in_USA_(9804504753).jpg

Shockley Semiconductor

1955

Wanting to mass-produce his own transistors, Shockley founds and directs Shockley Semiconductor Laboratories, later known as the Shockley Transistor Corporation (Isaacson 155; Shampo et al. e43). Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:391_San_Antonio_Rd.jpg

Nobel Prize

1956

Shockley is a co-winner of the Nobel Prize in physics for his work in inventing the transistor (Shampo et al. e43). Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nobel_Prize.png

The Traitorous Eight

1957

Frustrated by Shockley's leadership at Shockley Semiconductor, eight workers leave the company and form Fairchild Semiconductor, dooming Shockley's company (Isaacson 166-168).

Lecturer

1958

Shockley starts teaching at Stanford University (Shampo et al. e43). Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stanford_University_Main_Quad_May_2011_005.jpg

Faculty Member

1963

Shockley stops working at his company and becomes an official member of the Stanford faculty (Shampo et al. e43). Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stanford_University_from_Hoover_Tower_May_2011_001.jpg

Retirement

1975

Shockley retires, ending 17 years of being a professor at Stanford (Shampo et al. e43). Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Shockley,_Stanford_University.jpg

Death

Aug 12, 1989

Shockley dies at Palo Alto, ending his career with over 90 semiconductor patents (Shampo et al. e43).