Bob Widlar
- Birthdate
- 1937/11/30
- Birthplace
- Cleveland, OH
- Death date
- 1991/02/27
- Associated organizations
- Fairchild Semiconductor
Biography
Robert John Widlar was born on November 30, 1937 in Cleveland, Ohio, and joined the United States Air Force in 1958 and authored the textbook "Introduction to Semiconductor Devices" in 1960. After leaving the Air Force in 1961, he started working at Ball Brothers Research Corporation in Boulder, and left for Fairchild Semiconductor in 1963.
At Fairchild, Widlar developed the first mass-produced operational amplifier integrated circuits with David Talbert. He initially retired in 1970, and returned to work for National Semiconductor, where he worked from 1974-1981.
Between 1981 and 1984, he co-founded Linear Technology with Bob Swanson and Bob Dobkin. He was fired from Linear Technology in 1984, as numerous people have noted he was difficult to work with. Widlar's personality was outlandish, and he embraced a counter-culture attitude and love for pranks. After his discharge from Linear, he returned to National Semiconductor.
Widlar died on February 27th, 1991 of a heart attack.
