Â
David Randolph Brown, 92, of Redwood City, died April 16, 2016.
A pioneer in the early computer industry, David was an integral part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology leadership team that created Project Whirlwind, one of the first large-scale, high-speed computers.
Born Oct. 31, 1923, in Los Angeles, California, David attended the University of Washington, where he earned an electrical engineering degree and met his future wife, Sarah Jane (Sally) England. They were married Dec. 17, 1944.
He earned a master’s of science degree from MIT.
He was a master woodworker, having built beds and desks for all his children, as well as a large dining table and kitchen cabinets. David enjoyed fixing cars and kept meticulous records of repairs and servicing that extended back decades. With his wife Sally, he co-wrote A Biography of Mrs. Marty Mann: The First Lady of Alcoholics Anonymous (Hazelden, 2001).
He is survived by his wife Sally; children Ann, Polly, Ellen and Philip; his granddaughter Lisa; daughter-in-law Karin, and sons-in-law Chuck and Bill.
A memorial service will be 3 p.m., Friday, May 13, at the First Congregational Church, 1985 Louis Road, Palo Alto.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
CA Is Burning said:
suebeckmeyer said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) entries
Sign the guestbook.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.