An Wang
An Wang was a Chinese-American computer engineer and inventor who cofounded Wang Laboratories, a company best known for its dedicated word processing machines. He made important contributions to the development of magnetic-core memory. Born in Shanghai in 1920, he earned an electrical engineering degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University before immigrating to the United States in 1945. He received a PhD in applied physics from Harvard University in 1948 and subsequently worked at Harvard with Howard Aiken on the Mark IV, Aiken’s first fully electronic computer. With a fellow Chinese schoolmate, Wang coinvented a pulse transfer controlling device that implemented write-after-read, a technique that made magnetic-core memory feasible. When Harvard reduced its computer research commitment in 1951, Wang founded his own engineering firm. He began as a sole proprietor, later selling a third of the company to Warner & Swasey for working capital. In 1955, after the core memory patent was issued, he sold it to IBM and incorporated Wang Laboratories with another schoolmate. The company initially grew slowly, then began producing desktop electronic calculators with digital displays and a centralized calculator with remote terminals. By 1970, sales had risen substantially. Wang entered the word processor market in 1974, copying an existing cassette-based product, and in 1976 introduced a multi-user, display-based system using the Zilog Z80 processor that became the market leader. The company also diversified into minicomputers, including the Wang 2200 and the Wang VS system. In 1984, Wang and his family owned about 55 percent of the company stock, and Forbes ranked him the fifth richest American. Wang Laboratories once employed over 30,000 people. Wang later founded the Wang Institute of Graduate Studies, which offered a software engineering program, and donated to restore a Boston theater, renamed the Wang Theatre. He received the Medal of Liberty in 1986 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1988. He died of cancer in 1990.
- field
- Computer engineering
- nationality
- Chinese-American
- known_for
- Magnetic-core memory, Wang Laboratories, word processing machines
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
An Wang was a Chinese-American computer engineer and inventor who cofounded Wang Laboratories, a company renowned for its dedicated word processing machines. He made a significant contribution to computing by coinventing the pulse transfer controlling device with Way-Dong Woo, which implemented write-after-read and thereby enabled the development of magnetic-core memory. Born in Shanghai, China, and a native of Kunshan County in Suzhou Prefecture, Wang earned a degree in electrical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University before immigrating to the United States for graduate study at Harvard University, where he received a PhD in applied physics. After graduating, he worked at Harvard with Howard Aiken on the design of the Mark IV, Aiken's first fully electronic computer. When Harvard reduced its commitment to computer research in 1951, Wang founded his own engineering business. His company initially produced desktop electronic calculators with digital displays, including a centralized calculator with remote terminals for group use. In the mid-1970s, Wang Laboratories began manufacturing word processors, copying the existing Xerox Redactron single-user, cassette-based product. By 1976, they marketed a multi-user, display-based word processor using the Zilog Z80 processor, which became the market leader. The company also diversified into minicomputers, producing the Wang 2200, one of the first desktop computers with a large CRT display and a fast hardwired BASIC interpreter, and the Wang VS system, a multiuser minicomputer with an instruction set close to IBM's System/370. Wang Laboratories was headquartered in Tewksbury and later Lowell, Massachusetts, and at its peak employed over 30,000 people. Wang also founded the Wang Institute of Graduate Studies, donated substantially to restore a Boston landmark renamed the Wang Theatre, and contributed to Massachusetts General Hospital. He received the Medal of Liberty in 1986 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1988.
Reader's Guide
Wang Laboratories rose to prominence by pioneering multi-user, display-based word processing systems that became the market leader in the industry. The company’s 1976 product, built around the Zilog Z80 processor, typically consisted of a master unit with disk storage connected to intelligent diskless terminals via coaxial cables using differential signaling at 4.275 MHz. These terminals could operate in both data processing and word processing modes, the latter running the same software as earlier dedicated systems. Before word processors, Wang had produced desktop electronic calculators with digital displays, including a centralized calculator with remote terminals for group use. The company also entered the minicomputer market in the early 1970s, releasing the Wang 2200, one of the first desktop computers with a large CRT display and a fast hardwired BASIC interpreter, and later the Wang VS system, a multiuser minicomputer whose instruction set closely resembled IBM’s System/370 but was not binary-compatible. An Wang’s own technical contribution was the coinvention of the pulse transfer controlling device, which implemented write-after-read and made magnetic-core memory feasible. He sold the patent to IBM in 1955. Wang Laboratories grew to employ over 30,000 people by 1989, and An Wang was ranked the fifth richest American by Forbes in 1984. His legacy also includes founding the Wang Institute of Graduate Studies, donating to restore Boston’s Metropolitan Theatre (renamed the Wang Theatre), and funding a Massachusetts General Hospital ambulatory care center. He received the Medal of Liberty in 1986 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1988.
Did You Know?
- An Wang coinvented the pulse transfer controlling device with Way-Dong Woo, which made magnetic-core memory possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is An Wang?
An Wang was a Chinese-American computer engineer and inventor best known for co-founding Wang Laboratories. He is widely recognized for his pioneering work in magnetic-core memory and for helping bring dedicated word processing machines to the market.
What is An Wang most famous for?
He is credited with significant contributions to the development of magnetic-core memory, a key technology in early computing. He also built Wang Laboratories into a major force behind standalone word processing hardware.
What company did An Wang co-found?
He co-founded Wang Laboratories, a firm that became well known for producing dedicated word processing machines. The company played a notable role in the early personal-computing and office-automation era.
Why is An Wang considered important in the history of business and technology?
His engineering breakthroughs in magnetic-core memory helped lay groundwork for modern data storage. By turning Wang Laboratories into a leader in word processing, he also demonstrated that a single product category could sustain a major industrial enterprise.
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