The Lawrence C. Brown papers range in date from 1953 to 1993 and contain technical reports, manuals, internal memos, correspondence, and a small amount of software and photographic materials. About half of the collection pertains directly to Brown's early work at a programmer at International Business Machines (IBM), where he developed programming languages such as PL/I, Fortran, and NPL. Most of these materials were produced during the 1950s and 1960s and include IBM internal design documents and memos, code listings, flowcharts, reports, and correspondence chronicling the development of Fortran and PL/I languages and compilers. The other half of the collection contains manuals, technical reports, and other printed materials from a range of companies and institutions, including Case University and Dahlgren Naval Weapons Laboratory. The papers also include about 8 linear inches of punch cards, as well as a small amount of 35mm slides.

Lawrence (Larry) Conway Brown was a computer programmer and designer of programming languages. Brown was born July 24, 1939 in Ohio. He graduated from Case Institute of Technology in 1960 with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics. He moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1965, where he worked for International Business Machines (IBM). Brown worked for IBM for 32 years, retiring in 1991. In addition to his work in computer programming, Brown was very involved in the community of Boulder, serving on the city planning board as well as the library commission. He died June 17, 2015 in Boulder at the age of 75.

9.42 Linear feet, 7 record cartons, 1 metal case

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