12 Facts About Adam Osborne

Adam Osborne was a British author, software publisher, and computer designer who founded several companies in the United States and elsewhere.

Adam Osborne introduced the Osborne 1, the first commercially successful portable computer.

Adam Osborne's father, Arthur Osborne, was a teacher of eastern religion and philosophy and a lecturer in English at Chulalongkorn University.

Adam Osborne spent World War II in Tiruvannamalai, in southern India, with his mother.

Adam Osborne graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Birmingham in 1961, and received his PhD from the University of Delaware in 1968.

Adam Osborne obtained a position as a chemical engineer with Shell Oil, in California, but was dismissed.

Adam Osborne was a pioneer in the computer book field, founding a company in 1972 that specialized in easy-to-read computer manuals.

Adam Osborne was known to frequent the Homebrew Computer Club's meetings around 1975.

Adam Osborne created the first commercially available portable computer, the Osborne 1, released in April 1981.

Adam Osborne was one of the first personal computing pioneers to understand fully that there was a wide market of buyers who were not computing hobbyists: the Adam Osborne 1 included word processing and spreadsheet software.

In 1992, Adam Osborne returned to India in declining health, suffering from a brain disorder that triggered frequent minor strokes.

Adam Osborne died in his sleep on 18 March 2003, in Kodaikanal, India, aged 64.