Gerald “Jerry” Lawson’s 82nd Birthday : Google Doodle Celebrated Jerry’s Birthday

Gerald “Jerry” Lawson, one of the founding fathers of contemporary gaming, turns 82 today, and the interactive game Doodle honours him. Lawson led the team that created the first home video gaming system with swappable game cartridges. Three American guest artists and game designers, Momo Pixel, Lauren Brown, and Davionne Gooden, are featured in The Doodle.

On this day in 1940, Lawson was born in Brooklyn, New York. From a young age, he experimented with electronics, fixing televisions in his neighbourhood and building his own radio station out of reclaimed materials. Prior to leaving early to begin his career in Palo Alto, California, he attended Queens College and City College of New York. Due to the rapid growth of cutting-edge computer enterprises at the time, the city and its surroundings had earned the nickname “Silicon Valley.”

Lawson joined Fairchild Semiconductor as an engineering consultant after moving to California. A few years later, Lawson was given the opportunity to lead the creation of the Fairchild Channel F system (the “F” stood for fun!) after being appointed Director of Engineering and Marketing of Fairchild’s video game division. This was the first home video game console with an 8-way digital joystick, interchangeable game cartridges, and a pause menu. Future gaming consoles like the Atari, SNES, Dreamcast, and others were made possible thanks to the Channel F.

One of the first Black-owned video game production companies, VideoSoft was founded by Lawson after he left Fairchild in 1980. The organisation popularised the cartridge Lawson and his team produced by developing software for the Atari 2600. Despite the fact that they were shut down five years later, Lawson had established himself as a pioneer in the field and had worked as a consultant for several engineering and video game firms for the remainder of his career.

Lawson was honoured as an industry trailblazer in 2011 by the International Game Developers Association for his contributions to gaming. The Gerald A. Lawson Fund was established by the University of Southern California to assist underrepresented students who want to pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees in computer science or game design. The World Video Game Hall of Fame in Rochester, New York honours Lawson’s accomplishments.

Jerry, here’s to you!

Google Doodle Celebrated Jerry’s Birthday

Engineer Gerald Anderson Lawson was always inquisitive, critical in his thinking, and logical in his approach to problem-solving. He pushed us to go beyond our comfort zones and inspired the next generation to work in the fields of science and technology.

He was influenced by George Washington Carver when he was a little boy in the 1940s. His ambition to pursue a profession in electronics was sparked by that inspiration. He did what he liked and loved what he did. His professional accomplishments were highly impressive given the evident difficulties facing African-Americans at the time.

Our father’s story was written off in the history of video games due to a market meltdown. But during the last few years, he has received a lot of honours, scholarships, and media attention. We will always be grateful to those who sacrificed so much to tell the world about his life.

We join the entire globe in commemorating Dad’s 82nd birthday today. We’d like to express our gratitude to Google for working with us to include the story of our father in this Doodle. May the many young people around the world who have been inspired by his tale continue to accomplish something extraordinary.

Dad, you were a provider, a teacher, an innovator, a friend, and a motivator for us. We miss you dearly and are immensely proud of you. Your tale is known around the world, and you will never be forgotten!

You’re welcome, Pop! We adore you.