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Richard Greenblatt

By banoel

  • Richard Greenblatt was born

    Richard Greenblatt was born
    Richard Greenblatt was born in Portland, OR on December 25, 1944.

  • Visiting the University of Missouri

    Visiting the University of Missouri
    At the age of nine, Greenblatt's father took him to the explore Memorial Student Union at the University of Missouri. This was a place the Greenblatt could connect with people around the same intelligence level as him. He started beating most of the college students in chess and he was also introduced to electronics by an engineering student named Lester. (Levy 62)

  • Began at MIT

    Began at MIT
    Greenblatt's first week at MIT was spent exploring the campus. He made his way to the Kluge Room (this would be his first encounter with the PDP-1) and the Tech Model Railroad Club. (Levy, 16)

  • Introduction to the TMRC

    Introduction to the TMRC
    Around December of his first semester at MIT, Greenblatt finally felt comfortable enough to begin frequenting the Tech Model Railroad Club. (Levy, 63)

  • Greenblatt's Sophomore Year

    Greenblatt's Sophomore Year
    He began working at MIT programming as a student employee for sub minimum wage. (65)

  • FORTRAN

    FORTRAN
    Together with Peter Samson, Greenblatt wrote the program for FORTRAN. Most of the program was written in Greenblatt's room because he had limited access to the PDP-1. (Levy, 64)

  • Greenblatt meets Gosper

    Greenblatt meets Gosper
    Richard Greenblatt and Bill Gosper began a friendship. The two of them would continue to work and create together after they left MIT. (Levy, 67)

  • Founding of the Hacker Ethic

    Founding of the Hacker Ethic
    Greenblatt was one of the prominent hackers involved in creating the Hacker Ethic. He lived strictly by the Hacker Ethic and believed that access to information should be free. (Levy, 27-38)

  • Leaving MIT

    Leaving MIT
    During Greenblatt's junior year he was put on academic probation. All of his time was focused on hacking and not on his classes. He slept through his final exam and began looking for a job as he left MIT. (66)

  • Charles Adams Associates

    Charles Adams Associates
    Greenblatt got a job at Charles Adams Associates, they had just received their first PDP-1 computer. He would work all day at his day job and then drive to MIT to hack all night. (Levy, 76)

  • MIT AI Lab

    MIT AI Lab
    After working at Charles Adams Associates for 6 months, Greenblatt was offered a job at the MIT AI Lab. He would be so consumed with hacking that he would go up to 6 months without picking up his pay check. (Levy, 76-77)

  • LISP complier on PDP-6

    LISP complier on PDP-6
    Greenblatt helped to create a program that allowed the computer to run the most up to date software created for Artificial Intelligence. (Levy, 79)

  • Mac Hack

    Mac Hack
    Greenblatt invented the first computer game to play chess at a tournament level. (Levy, 81-81)

  • Timesharing System

    Timesharing System
    Incompatible Timesharing System was written with Stewart Nelson and Tom Knight. This was a timesharing system that was widely used at MIT for the PDP-6 and the PDP-10. (Levy, 117)

  • LISP Machines, Inc

    LISP Machines, Inc
    Greenblatt founded LISP Machines, Inc with Tom Knight. Together they worked to create a company that was aligned with the Hacker Ethic.