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Moore (Gordon) papers
M1965
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Gordon Moore papers
Creator:
Moore, Gordon E., 1929-
Creator:
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Identifier/Call Number: M1965
Physical Description:
53.6 Linear Feet
97 boxes (79 manuscript boxes, 18 flat boxes)
Physical Description:
180 gigabyte(s)
Date (inclusive): 1958-2005
Abstract: The papers of Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of the Intel Corporation and author of "Moore's Law", document his professional
and personal life, covering his roles at Intel and his many activities outside of the Intel Corporation, how he invested his
time and money, and his engagement with many organizations and individuals in business, politics, science, academia, philanthropy,
and conservation.
Physical Location: Special Collections materials are stored offsite and must be paged 36 hours in advance. For more information on paging collections,
see the department's website: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/spc.html.
The collection consists of business correspondence related to Intel Corporation, reports, overhead transparencies, presentation
slides related to Intel Corporation and the semiconductor industry. Also included are photographs, slides, calendars, audiocassettes,
videocassettes, and publications relating to Moore's career as President and Chairman of Intel Corporation as well as his
work in other organizations. The collection spans from 1958-2005, but the bulk of the material falls within the years 1968-1996.
Intel reviewed the collection and flagged a large portion as secret or restricted because they may contain proprietary or
other sensitive information. The items flagged by Intel have been separated from the collection and will be returned to Intel.
While the folders retain their original titles prior to the materials being separated the titles but may no longer reflect
the folder's contents.
Gordon Earle Moore (1929-2023), co-founder of Intel Corporation and progenitor of "Moore's Law," was born January 3, 1929
in San Francisco. He grew up in in the small town of Pescadero where his father, Walter Harold Moore, was the San Mateo County
Deputy Sheriff and his mother, born Florence Almira "Mira" Williamson, was a homemaker. The Moores had been in Pescadero
since the 1840s. Moore's father became the Chief Deputy Sheriff and the family moved to Redwood City where Moore grew interested
in chemistry and graduated from Sequoia High School. He met his future wife Betty Whitaker while attending San Jose State
College, then transferred to the University of California, Berkeley and received a chemistry degree in 1950. Moore then went
to the California Institute of Technology and was awarded a PhD in chemistry and physics in 1954. After graduation Gordon
and Betty moved to Maryland where he worked as a researcher at the Applied Physics Laboratory run by John Hopkins University.
Two years later Moore joined William Shockley, Nobel Prize winner and co-inventor of the transistor, at the Shockley Semiconductor
Laboratory in Palo Alto, California. However, Moore was among the "Traitorous Eight" who left Shockley to start the Fairchild
Semiconductor Corporation in 1957 where he served as Director of Research and Development. Moore and Robert Noyce left Fairchild
in July 1968 to establish the Intel Corporation in Santa Clara with the initial goal of developing and producing large scale
integrated products. They were soon joined by another scientist from Fairchild, Andrew Grove. Moore initially served as
Executive Vice President and in 1975 he became President and Chief Executive Officer. In April 1979 Moore was elected Chairman
of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. In April 1987 he became Chairman of the Board, which he held for next 10 years.
Moore was Chairman Emeritus of Intel Corporation from 1997 until stepping down in 2006.
Moore is well known for "Moore's Law," which states that the number of electrical components on a computer chip would double
each year. In 1975 he updated the prediction to once every two years. This principle enabled the semiconductor industry
to decrease the cost of electronics while creating more powerful chips. In addition, Dr. Moore is a director of Transamerica
Corporation, Gilead Sciences and Varian Associates and was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Caltech from 1995 to 2001.
He and his wife Betty founded the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in 2000. The foundation is one of the biggest foundations
and focuses on environmental conservation, patient care, science, and projects in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dr. Moore has received multiple awards over the years including the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Caltech, W.W. McDowell
Award from the IEEE Computer Society, Frederik Philips Award, Harry Goode Award for Leadership in Science, Computer Pioneer
Medal of IEEE, Founders Award, National Medal of Technology and the John Fritz Medal.
Gordon Moore died at his home in Hawaii on March 24, 2023.
The collection is arranged into five series:
1. Notebooks, 1968-1995
2. Chronological Files, 1958-2003
I. Correspondence, Minutes and Other Material affiliated with Gordon Moore, 1958-2002
II. Outgoing Business Correspondence from Gordon Moore, 1984-2003
III. Intel Corporation Financial Reports, 1969-1995
IV. Calendars, 1974-1999
3. Alphabetical Files, 1968-1999
4. Photographs and Slides, 1964-1998
5. Audiovisual Materials, 1975-2005
This collection was originally processed by the Chemical Heritage Foundation and later transferred to Stanford University
and further processed using Intel's guidelines.
Processing Information from the Chemical Heritage Foundation:
The folders in this collection have been retained in their original order. David Brock processed the first series in the
collection, and Amanda Antonucci completed the remaining series. All original files were re-housed into acid free folders
and boxes. Three-ring binders were removed and contents were placed into folders. Overhead transparencies were interleaved
with acid-free paper to prevent any degradation to the surrounding materials.
Any photographs that were located within the chronological or alphabetical series were removed and placed within the photographic
series. Separation sheets were inserted to state the original and current locations of the image(s). Certain images that
were part of a report remained in their original folder.
Oversized items in the chronological and alphabetical series were removed and placed in an oversized box at the end of the
alphabetical series. Separations sheets were placed where the oversized item originally existed and in its current location.
The publications were removed from the original boxes and placed in acid free boxes; no rational order existed for this series.
Gordon Moore's Rolodex was placed securely in an artifact box. The holiday greeting cards addressed to Gordon Moore were
placed at the end of the alphabetical section in addition to the binder of business cards.
Processing Information from Stanford University:
Intel reviewed the collection and flagged a large portion as secret or restricted because they may contain proprietary or
other sensitive information. While the folders retain the titles they had prior to the materials being separated, the titles
may no longer reflect the folder's contents.
The collection was processed by David Brock and Amanda Antonucci at the Chemical Heritage Foundation and by Pennington Ahlstrand
and Gurudarshan Khalsa at Stanford University. The finding aid was mostly created by Amanda Antonucci.
Gordon Moore papers, M1965. Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
The collection is open for research, with the exception of one box. Series 2: Chronological Files contains one box closed
until the year 2023. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.
Selected audiovisual and other material from this collection has been digitized and is available e in the Special Collections
reading room or via Searchworks for Stanford-affiliated patrons: https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/10626780
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Gordon Moore, 2013. Accession 2013-107 and 2013-115
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Businesspeople
Charge coupled devices
Chemists
Computer engineering
Computer engineers
Computer science -- Very large scale integration
Electronic industries.
Entrepreneurship
Integrated Circuits
Metal oxide semiconductors -- History
Microcomputers
Microelectronics industry -- California -- Santa Clara County
Microprocessors
Moore's law
Random access memory
Semiconductor industry.
Semiconductors
Noyce, Robert N. (Robert Norton), 1927-1990
Grove, Andrew S.
Advanced Micro Devices (Firm)
American Electronics Association
AT & T (Firm)
California Institute of Technology
Conservation International
Dataquest (Firm)
Fairchild (Firm)
Ford Motor Company
Gilead Sciences (Firm)
Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Intel Corporation
International Business Machines Corporation.
Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network (Organization)
Microsoft Corporation
National Academies (U.S.)
National Academy of Engineering
NEC Electronics
San José State University
Sandia National Laboratories
SEMATECH (Organization)
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute
Semiconductor Industry Association
Semiconductor Research Corporation
Texas Instruments Incorporated.
Transamerica Corporation
United Way of America
Varian Associates