Cray, Seymour (1925-1996), an American engineer, made many contributions to the field of computer technology. He is best known for his work in the development of supercomputers, the fastest mainframe computers.
Seymour Roger Cray was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Cray served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1950 and a master’s degree in applied mathematics in 1951.
After college, Cray joined Engineering Research Associates, an innovative computer company. In 1957, he joined several co-workers in the formation of a new company, Control Data Corporation (CDC). In 1958, Cray designed the first fully transistorized computer, the CDC 1604. Soon afterward, he designed the CDC 6600, the first machine to be called a “supercomputer.” This computer, the fastest of its time, used silicon in its transistors and required a special cooling system to prevent overheating.
In 1972, Cray founded Cray Research, Inc. He left Cray Research and founded Cray Computer Corporation in 1989. At both of these companies, he continued to develop supercomputers.
