William (Willy) A. Higinbotham (October 25, 1910 - November 10, 1994), an American physicist, is credited with creating one of the first computer games, Tennis for Two. Events 1147 - The Portuguese, under Afonso I, and Crusaders from England and Flanders conquer Lisbon after a Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A physicist is a Scientist who studies or practices Physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning Tennis for Two was a game developed in 1958 on an Analog computer, which simulates a game of Tennis or Ping pong on an Oscilloscope Like Pong, it is a portrait of a game of tennis or ping-pong, but featured very different game mechanics that have no resemblance to the later game. Pong is a first generation Video game released originally as a Coin -operated Arcade game by Atari Inc A game mechanic is a construct of rules intended to produce an enjoyable Game or Gameplay. As the Head of the Instrumentation Division at Brookhaven National Laboratory, he created it on an oscilloscope in 1958, to entertain visitors during visitor days at the national laboratory. Brookhaven National Laboratory ( BNL) is a United States national laboratory located in Upton New York on Long Island, and was formally established An oscilloscope (commonly abbreviated to scope or O-scope) is a type of Electronic test equipment that allows signal Voltages to be viewed Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
He helped found the nuclear nonproliferation group, Federation of American Scientists, and served as its first chairman and executive secretary. The Federation of American Scientists ( FAS) is a non-profit organization formed in 1945 by scientists from the Manhattan Project who felt that scientists engineers
He earned his undergraduate degree from Williams College in 1932 and continued his studies at Cornell University and MIT. In some Educational systems undergraduate education is Post-secondary education up to the level of a Bachelor's degree. Williams College is a highly selective private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. During World War II, he worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory and headed the lab's electronics group in the later years of the war. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL (previously known at various times as Site Y, Los Alamos Laboratory, and Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory) is a
He is said to have expressed regret that he would more likely be famous for his invention of a game than for his work on nuclear non-proliferation. Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of Nuclear weapons, fissile material and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations When after his death, requests for information on his game increased, his son William B. Higinbotham wrote, "It is imperative that you include information on his nuclear nonproliferation work. That was what he wanted to be remembered for. "
References
- A Peril and a Hope, The Scientists' Movement in America 1945-47, Alice K. Smith, Revised Edition, The MIT Press Books, 1971, ISBN 0-262-69026-8
- Critical Assembly, A Technical History of Los Alamos During the Oppenheimer Years, 1943-1945, Hoddeson, Lillian, Henriksen, Paul W. , Meade, Roger A. and Westfall, Catherine L. 1993 ISBN: 0-521-44132-3
- The New World, A History of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, Volume I 1939-1946, Reissue in paper of 1962 edition, 1990, ISBN: 0-520-07186-7
- RADAR IN WORLD WAR II, Vol. I and II, Henry E. Guerlac, Tomash/American Institute of Physics, New York, 1987, ISBN: 0-88318-486-9
- Brighter than a Thousand Suns: A Personal History of the Atomic Scientists (Paperback), Robert Jungk, 1958
- Reminiscences of William A. Higinbotham : oral history, 1980-1983, Columbia University, Oral History Research Office
- Smartbomb, Chaplin, Heather and Ruby, Aaron, Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2005. ISBN 1-56512-346-8
- Basic Computer Games, Microcomputer Edition, Davis A. Ahl, Creative Computing Press, 1978, ISBN: 0-916688-07-0
- Who really invented the computer game, Creative Computing Magazine, October 1982, Page 190, Also Video and Arcade, Vol 1 No 1, Spring 1983, John Anderson
- Wonderful Willy from Brookhaven, A Scientist You Should Know, Parade Magazine, Page 16, May 18, 1958
- The Patriarch of Pong, American Heritage of Invention & Technology Magazine, Fall 1990, Frederic D. Schwarz
Recordings - With Bill Bonyun http://www.thecclc.org/heirloom_records/roll_and_go.htm Heirloom - was Bill's personal recording studio/registered Label. (1) Roll and Go - The Shantyman's Day Aboard a Yankee Clipper, HL-504, 1962 (2) The Civil War - Through its Ballads and Songs, HL- 503, 1961 (3) Songs of Yankee Whaling, American Heritage Publishing, 1960, AHLP/1
External links
- Video games History at BNL
- The First Video Game
- The Dot Eaters entry on Higinbotham and his Pong precursor
- Who Really Invented The Video Game? an editorial by John Anderson from CREATIVE COMPUTING VIDEO & ARCADE GAMES VOL. 1, NO. 1 / SPRING 1983.
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