What Is Gordon Moore?

Gordon Moore is a man who likes to keep and live up to his promises. A few years back, he made a bold prediction: that the number of transistors on a chip would double every two years. It's been almost 50 years since he first came up with the law that bears his name, and it's held up pretty well. Moore's law has been called one of the most accurate predictions in history. But there was one thing he couldn't predict: how many people would be named after him. There are now dozens of Gordons in the world—and not just any old Gordons either. These are Gordon Moores, who have accomplished great things! They've built companies and started successful businesses; they've made scientific discoveries and created technologies that make our lives better; they've won awards for their philanthropy, education, and economic development; they've even written books about their success stories! And they all transmit one thing in common: they were named after Gordon Moore—the man who predicted that our lives would be better if we had more transistors! In 1965, Gordon Moore was a scientist at Fairchild Semiconductor. He and his colleague, Robert Noyce, were working on an improved integrated circuit version. The two men left Fairchild that same year to co-found Intel with venture capitalists. Together, they would go on to perfect the microchip that would power computers for decades. After leaving Fairchild, Moore and Noyce hired Marcian Hoff to lead their team that created the first microprocessor in 1971. The microprocessor enabled computers to run faster than ever by giving them more memory and making them smaller. Intel went public that same year and made its founders incredibly wealthy men—and it has been a part of our lives ever since!