The Rise of Computer: The Rise of Control Data and Bill Norris---inventor and social visionary

At our local library in the old VHS tapes are a series on secrets of World War II. In several of these tapes they cover the black box operation during the war called "Code Breakers" which was based in London and charged with breaking the German code. The success of this operation played a large role in the victory of the Allies.

The rest of the story is what happened to the technology of these code breakers. Some of this technology ended up in the company first called Univac and then called Control Data. One of the young employees was Seymour Cray who later went on the build the Cray Supercomputer. If you click on the post there is the background in Wikipedia.

Bill Norris, who headed up Control Data, was not only an entrapeneur, but a business leader that supported business development and inventors. Folks are very aware of the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis----that noisy and yes terrible place to watch football. Few are aware of the BTC, or the Business Technology Center about two blocks away. It is earth sheltered. Heated with passive solar 30 years ago. It was designed to house some Control Data offices, but mostly those that could support young business that was in formation stage and which needed low cost office space to begin in.

In those days, computers were running cp/m software, with large 8" discettes. Folks could build their computer purchased from a Heath Store in kit form, or they could buy one from Ohio Scientific. The software for these early computers was supported and sold by Control Data with an office in South Minneapolis. These beginning packages were pretty primitive compared with those in style today, but to have a General Ledger program, a data base program and an accounts receivable program was considered to be pretty hip. My first business computer was purchased in this way.

In addition to forming or helping form and support many new business ventures, Bill Norris was a visionary social thinker and formed the manufacturing divisions of Control Data in the very worst spots----like down in the ghetto of St. Paul----It is now a beautiful area of St. Paul. More importantly, these manufacturing divisions provided good paying jobs, and training to unskilled workers so they could become skilled.

His most extreme idea was to contract with prisons and pay wages to inmates to assemble computer parts. One of the representatives of Control Data gave my wife and I a tour of this facility in Stillwater prison and I can still remember the sound when the steel doors slammed shut. I was exploring whether the computer parts which I was manufacturing could be done by prison labor.

I wonder how many businesses were formed out of the efforts of Bill Norris. His "incubator concept" has been a model for all communities that are wondering what to do next. Thanks, Bill.