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Birth
Kenneth Lane Thompson was born on this day in New Orleans, Louisiana. -
Receives Bachelor's of Science
Kenneth Lane Thompson earns his Bachelor's of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley. -
Hired by Bell Labs
Kenneth Lane Thompson was hired by Bell Labs, the research and development arm of AT&T. -
Receives Master's Degree
Kenneth Lane Thompson earns his Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Berkeley. -
Creates Space Travel
While at Bell Labs, Thompson created a game called Space Travel. -
Creates B Programming Language
Thompson creates the B Programming Language which will heavily influence the common language C. -
Created UNIX
Kenneth Thompson creates UNIX at Bell Labs with Dennis Ritchie. -
Rewrites UNIX Kernel
Thompson rewrites his UNIX Kernel in the updated programming language C. -
Elected to US National Academy of Engineering
Thompson is elected to the US National Academy of Engineering for all of his work. -
"Belle" wins World Computing Chess Championship
Thompson's chess-playing computer he developed wins the World Championship -
Wins Turing Award
Thompson and good companion Dennis Ritchie win the Turing Award "for their development of generic operating systems theory and specifically for the implementation of the UNIX operating system." -
Wins Computer Pioneer Award
Kenneth Lane Thompson wins the Computer Pioneer Award for his work with UNIX. -
Period: to
Assisted Ritchie in two more OS
Thompson assisted Dennis Ritchie in creating two more Operating Systems, Plan 9 and Inferno. -
Retired from Bell Labs
Thompson retires from Bell Laboratories and moves to California. -
Wins Japan Prize
Thompson wins the Japan Prize with Ritchie shortly before Ritchie passes.
