An Wang.

Chinese-born American Inventor and Entrepreneur
1920–1990

An Wang is remembered for his contributions to the invention of core memory; the accomplishments of his company, Wang Laboratories; and his many inventions, including the world's first commercially successful logarithmic calculator and word processing system. Wang's invention of the memory core helped fuel the spread of mainframe computers for decades.

An Wang was born in Shanghai, China, on February 7, 1920, the eldest son of a school teacher. His quick intellect became evident at an early age when he finished sixth grade at the age of nine. He studied electrical engineering at Chiao Tung University in Shanghai, an institution comparable to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. He was ranked first in his class throughout his years at college, graduating as valedictorian in 1940.

In 1944 the Chinese government selected a small group of engineers, including...