Guide to the John C. McDonald papers

Sara Chabino Lott
Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, California 94043
Phone: (650) 810-1010
Email: research@computerhistory.org
URL: http://www.computerhistory.org
© 2008
Computer History Museum. All rights reserved.

Guide to the John C. McDonald papers

Collection number: 4122.2007

Computer History Museum
Processed by:
Sara Chabino Lott
Date Completed:
November 2008
Encoded by:
Sara Chabino Lott
© 2008 Computer History Museum. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Guide to the John C. McDonald papers
Dates: 1959-1980
Bulk Dates: 1960-1974
Collection number: 4122.2007
Creator: McDonald, John C., 1936-
Collection Size: 1.25 linear feet 1 record carton
Repository: Computer History Museum
Mountain View, CA 94043
Abstract: The John C. McDonald papers contain published transistor and integrated circuit material from 1959 through 1980.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

The Computer History Museum can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying any claims of the copyright holder. Permission to copy or publish any portion of the Computer History Museum's collection must be given by the Computer History Museum.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], [Date], John C. McDonald papers, 4122.2007, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California.

Provenance

The John C. McDonald papers were donated to the Computer History Museum in June of 2007 by John C. McDonald.

Biography / Administrative History

John C. McDonald was born in San Bernardino, California in 1936. He received three degrees from Stanford University in Electrical Engineering. These were Bachelor of Science with Distinction in 1957, Master of Science in 1959 and Degree of Engineer in 1964 with a thesis in solid state physics. He began working at GTE Sylvania in 1959 where he worked as a design engineer until 1962. In 1963 he began working for Vidar Corporation and eventually became Vice President of Research and Engineering. He left Vidar in 1980 and spent 1981 as a lecturer in continuing engineering education at the University of California, Los Angeles. From 1982 to 1990 McDonald worked for Contel Corporation as Chief Scientist. In 1991 McDonald founded MBX Inc. and is still the president.

Scope and Content of Collection

The John C. McDonald papers primarily contain published transistor and integrated circuit material from 1959 through 1980, with the bulk of the material from 1960 to 1974. The collection includes Harris Semiconductor data books, National Semiconductor Corporation catalogs, Fairchild Semiconductor and Signetics Corporation handbooks and manuals, Intel Corporation, National Semiconductor Corporation, and Fairchild Semiconductor product data files, as well as microprocessor and small computer system articles. The collection's only unpublished items are Stanford University solid-state electronics seminar syllabi from the mid-1960s.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in 6 series:
  • Series 1: Articles
  • Series 2: Catalogs
  • Series 3: Data books
  • Series 4: Handbooks and manuals
  • Series 5: Product data files
  • Series 6: Syllabi

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
McDonald, John C., 1936-
Integrated circuits
Transistors
Semiconductor industry


box 1

Articles 1974 February

 

102708011 Microprocessors and small computer systems, collected articles 1974-02

box 1

Catalogs 1969-1971

 

102707993 Allied electronics for everyone 1970

 

102707996 Digital integrated circuits 1971-05

 

102707995 MOS integrated circuits 1970-10

 

102708000 National transistors 1971-08

 

102707994 Preferred semiconductors and components from Texas Instruments 1969-09-01

box 1

Data books 1979-1980

 

102707992 Harris CMOS microprocessor data book 1979

 

102707991 Harris linear and data acquisition products 1980

box 1

Handbooks and manuals 1966-1972

 

102707997 Electronics circuit designer's casebook ca. 1970

 

102707998 Fairchild Semiconductor linear integrated circuits applications handbook 1967

 

102708001 Ferroxcube: applying ferroxcube ferrite cores to the design of power magnetics 1966

 

102707999 General Electric transistor manual 1960

 

102708002 MOS silicon gate 2500 series metal gate 2000 and 2400 series 1972

box 1

Product data files 1959-1972

 

102708004 Application data, miscellaneous companies ca. 1962-1970

 

102708009 Fairchild Semiconductor application data 1961-1964

 

102708008 Fairchild Semiconductor technical articles and papers 1959-1962

 

102708005 Intel Corporation 1970-1972

 

102708003 Miscellaneous companies 1961-1962

 

102708007 National Semiconductor Corporation 1967-1969

box 1

Syllabi 1966-1968

 

102708010 Stanford University solid-state electronics seminar syllabi 1966-1968