from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
Seymour Cray
<person> The founder of {Cray Research} and designer of
several of their {supercomputers}.
Cray has been a charismatic yet somewhat reclusive figure. He
began Cray Research in Minnesota in 1972. In 1988, Cray moved
his {Cray-3} project to Colorado Springs. The next year, Cray
Research spun it off to create {Cray Computer}. In 1989, Cray
left Cray Research and started Cray Computer Corporation in Colorado
Springs.
His quest to build a faster computer using new-generation
materials failed in 1995, and his bankruptcy cost half a
billion dollars and more than 400 jobs. The company was
unable to raise $20 million needed to finish the {Cray-4} and
filed for bankruptcy in March 1995.
In the summer of 1996, Cray started a Colorado Springs-based
company called {SRC Computers, Inc.} "We think we'll build
computers, but who knows what kind or how," Cray said at the
time. "We'll talk it over and see if we can come up with a
plan."
On 1996-09-22, aged 70, Cray broke his neck in a car
accident. Surgery for massive head injuries and swelling of
the brain leaving him in a critical and unstable condition.
(1997-03-02)