Photo: Spencer Smith / CC BY 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Ed Roberts was born on September 13, 1941 in Miami, Florida, United States and was credited as a physician, military officer and inventor. Ed Roberts died on April 1, 2010, aged 68. Schooling on record includes Miami High School and Oklahoma State University. Credited works include Altair 8800.
My Take
I keep coming back to how Ed Roberts is the rare engineer whose biggest legacy was handing the spotlight to other people. The Altair 8800 in 1974 is what lured Bill Gates and Paul Allen into writing software, and you can draw a straight line from that machine to the personal computer era. What gets me is the second act: he walked away from the industry he helped start, went to medical school, and spent his later years as a country doctor in Georgia. A Florida kid who became the father of the PC and then quietly chose to heal people instead. That arc tells you a lot about what he actually valued.
This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ed Roberts
- Name (Japanese)
- エド・ロバーツ
- Reading
- えど・ろばーつ
- Born
- September 13, 1941 – April 1, 2010
- Origin
- Miami, Florida, United States
- Occupation
- physician / military officer / inventor / computer scientist / businessperson
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Snake
2. Background
- High school
- Miami High School
- University
- Oklahoma State University
3. Works & records
Filmography / notable works
| Category | Title |
|---|---|
| Notable work | Altair 8800 |
4. Links
5. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Ed Roberts born?
Born September 13, 1941.
When did Ed Roberts die?
Died April 1, 2010, aged 68.
Where was Ed Roberts from?
Ed Roberts was from Miami, Florida, United States.
What did Ed Roberts do?
Ed Roberts worked as physician, military officer, inventor, computer scientist, businessperson.
What was Ed Roberts known for?
Notable works include Altair 8800.
Physician — see all → · Military officer — see all → · More people from the United States →