Description
The Dennis R. Allison collection, ranging in date from 1967 to 2000, holds technical reports, publications, manuals, program
listings, promotional material, software, and A/V materials. The collection is wide-ranging, reflecting Allison's work as
a lecturer and consultant. About half of the collection consists of technical reports, course materials, dissertations, research
materials, and program listings from various universities, such as Stanford University, the University of Toronto, and Carnegie-Mellon
University. This part of the collection also includes program listings dated from 1967 to 1976. The other half of the collection
consists of mixed printed materials, including manuals, promotional materials, technical reports, conference proceedings,
and data sheets. Much of this part of this collection is made up of technical reports from the research arms of companies
such as Tandem Computing, Sun Microsystems Laboratories, Sony Computer Science Laboratory, International Business Machines,
NASA, Bell Laboratories, and Digital Equipment Corporation. Finally, there is a small amount of software, slides, and moving
images.
Background
Dennis R. Allison is a programmer, lecturer, consultant, and a cofounder of the People's Computer Company. In the early 1970s,
Dennis Allison, with Bob Albrecht and George Firedrake, founded the People's Computer Company in Menlo Park, CA. In 1975,
Allison wrote a specification for a microcomputer interpreter for the BASIC programming language, which could be used on machines
such as the MITS Altair 8800. This specification, known as Tiny BASIC, was published in the People's Computer Company newsletter.
Since 1976, Allison has been a lecturer at Stanford University in the Computer Science Department and the Computer Systems
Laboratory. He has served on editorial boards of several technical publications, such as Microprocessor Report, IEEE Computer
and IEEE Software. Additionally, Allison has been involved with a number of start-ups and established companies in roles such
as advisory board member, director, technical advisor, team member, and consultant.
Extent
12.79 Linear feet,
8 record cartons, 2 manuscript boxes, 1 half manuscript box, and 1 flat box
Restrictions
The Computer History Museum (CHM) can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying
any claims of the copyright holder. Requests for copying and permission to publish, quote, or reproduce any portion of the
Computer History Museum's collection must be obtained jointly from both the copyright holder (if applicable) and the Computer
History Museum.
Availability
The collection is open for research. However, the collection may require review by CHM staff before viewing.