9781422283318

Chapter 1

Frank Greene

Born: 1938 Died: 2009 Nationality: American Achievements:

W hile Silicon Valley is still not known as a showcase of racial diversity, Frank Greene is wide- ly credited for making the initial crack in its color barrier back in the 1960s. As an employee at Fairchild Semiconductor, a company that played a key role in the his- tory of Silicon Valley , Greene designed integrated circuits that became key components of the Illiac IV, then the most powerful computer in the world. He also went on to found two technology companies of his own—a feat nearly unheard of for a black man in that era. Later in life he launched New Vista, a high-tech venture firm that funded many minority-owned start-ups. “Success in life is not about ‘me’ but about what you can do to help others,” he asserted to one interviewer. Greene was born on October 19, 1938, in Washington, D.C., to Frank S. Greene, Sr. and

Inventor and electronics engineer whose work was key to building Silicon Valley powerhouses

11