15 Facts About Ken Olsen

1.

Kenneth Harry "Ken" Olsen was an American engineer who co-founded Digital Equipment Corporation in 1957 with colleague Harlan Anderson and his brother Stan Olsen.

2.

Kenneth Harry Olsen was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up in the neighboring town of Stratford, Connecticut.

3.

Ken Olsen was an engineer who had been working at MIT Lincoln Laboratory on the TX-2 project.

4.

Ken Olsen was known throughout his career for his management style and his fostering of engineering innovation.

5.

Ken Olsen's valuing of innovation and technical excellence spawned and popularized techniques such as engineering matrix management, that are broadly employed today throughout many industries.

6.

Ken Olsen valued humility, driving an economy car and keeping a simple office in an old mill building.

7.

Ken Olsen was an accomplished pilot and flew his own plane.

8.

Ken Olsen was inducted as a Fellow of the Computer History Museum in 1996.

9.

Ken Olsen was inducted as an Honorary Member of UPE on October 8,1975.

10.

Ken Olsen was forced to retire from DEC, stepping down as president in 1992.

11.

Ken Olsen subsequently became the chairman of Advanced Modular Solutions.

12.

Ken Olsen was a major contributor to The Family, a religious and political organization.

13.

Ken Olsen was a trustee of Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts.

14.

Ken Olsen died while in hospice care in Indianapolis, Indiana on February 6,2011, aged 84.

15.

Ken Olsen's family did not comment on any details surrounding his death.