"...If the network idea should prove to do for education which a few have envisioned . . . and if all minds should prove to be responsive, surely the boon to humankind would be beyond measure."

J.C.R. Licklider and Robert W. Taylor

Biography

Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider (1915-1990) was one of the most influential men in the history of computer science. In 1962, he became the head of a group at the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) which was to improve the military's use of computers. Licklider's influence from this position carried many of his visionary concepts through to fruition. Lick, as he preferred to be called, persevered through the scrutiny of the computer community throughout the 60's and 70's and brought time-sharing and networking capabilities to the forefront of computer technology and research. Perhaps Licklider's least known accomplishment is one for which I am very thankful. Licklider initiated the redirection of ARPA's funding from the private sector to universities. Before this funding was available, no universities granted a Ph.D. in Computer Science. Licklider helped establish such degree programs at four universites, which are still the leaders in the field: U.C. Berkeley, MIT, CMU, and Stanford. Were it not for J.C.R. Licklider, I would not be here studying him right now. Anyone who could correctly predict that millions of people would be on-line over 30 years before it happened, despite the criticisms of his peers and the non-existence of any infrastructure to allow such a development, can only be described as a true visionary.

Lick had a vision of a better way of computing. Once upon a time, to get a computer to do your bidding, you had to punch holes in paper cards or tapes, give the paper to someone who fed it to the machine, and then go away for hours or days. Lick believed we could do better and, more than any other single individual, saw to it that we did.

For all his considerable influence on computing, Lick retained his modesty. He was the most unlikely "great man" you could ever encounter. His favorite kind of joke was one at his own expense. He was gentle, curious, and outgoing.

Lick's vision provided an extremely fruitful, long-term direction for computing research. He guided the initial research funding that was necessary to fulfil the early promises of the vision. And he laid the foundation for graduate education in the newly created field of computer science. All users of interactive computing and every company that employs computer people owe him a great debt.

Robert W. Taylor
Copied by permission of the Systems Research Center of Digital Equipment Corporation in Palo Alto, California. Material is copyrighted by Digital Equipment Corporation © 1990

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Resources

In Memoriam: J.C.R Licklider with Preface by Robert W. Taylor, available in Adobe PDF format from The Matrix (Memex.org) and copyright © 1990 by Digital Equipment Corporation

J.C.R. Licklider biography web page © by David S. Bennahum

History of Internet and WWW: The Roads and Crossroads of Internet's History by Gregory R. Gromov copyright © 1997 by Internet Valley, Inc.

JCR Licklider (1915-1990), a detailed timeline biography of J.C.R. Licklider by Jay Hauben

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This Page Created by Jason Elliott
Last modified on Tuesday, October 21, 1997