Gordon Letwin

James Gordon Letwin (born July 2, 1952)^[1] is an American software developer and one of the original twelve Microsoft employees.^[2]

Prior to joining Microsoft, he worked for Heathkit, on HDOS and Benton Harbor Basic.

While at Microsoft, Letwin worked on a number of projects. His first project at Microsoft was writing a BASIC compiler. He is most noted for being the lead architect of the OS/2 operating system on the Microsoft side, with Ed Iacobucci being the lead architect from IBM's side. Letwin contributed much of the design and code for several core components, including the HPFS file system.^[3]

Letwin left Microsoft in 1993 to "kick back" with his wife.^[4] While at Microsoft he had become a millionaire, with a 2000 TIME article estimating his worth at around $20 million.^[2] Since leaving Microsoft, Letwin has donated substantial amounts of money to environmental causes via the Wilburforce Foundation, a charitable foundation created by him and his wife, Rose.^[2]

References

1. ^ "You searched: Gordon Letwin 19520702". Public Background Checks. http://www.publicbackgroundchecks.com/SearchResponse.aspx?view=NM&fn=GORDON&mn=&ln=LETWIN&city=&state=&zip=&dob=19520702&age=. Retrieved 2011-04-10. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "25 Years Ago At Microsoft". TIME. May 1, 2000. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/notebook/0,9485,1101000501,00.html. Retrieved 2006-09-16. 
3. ^ Zachary, G. Pascal (1994). Showstopper! The Breakneck Race to Create Windows NT and the Next Generation at Microsoft. Warner Books. ISBN 0-02-935671-7. 
4. ^ Associated Press (April 12, 2000). "A look at Microsoft's first 11 employees". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on 2001-04-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20010424144910/http://www.bostonherald.com/business/technology/ms7804122000.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-21. 

Bibliography

• Letwin, Gordon (1988). Inside OS/2. Microsoft Press. ISBN 1-55615-117-9.

External links

• Long Usenet post by Letwin explaining what happened to OS/2 from Microsoft's point of view - August 1995
• Summary of his work at Heathkit on HDOS prior to joining Microsoft - 1980
• What Happened To The People In Microsoft's Iconic 1978 Company Photo - Business Insider, January 2011

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