Hobbs (Linder Charlie) collection, 1958-1982

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Summary

Title:
Linder Charlie Hobbs collection
Dates:
1958-1982
Creators:
Hobbs, Linder Charlie
Extent:
12.5 Linear feet 10 record cartons
Language:
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], [Date], Linder Charlie Hobbs collection, X6403.2012, Box [#], Folder [#], Computer History Museum.

Background

Scope and content:

The Linder Charlie Hobbs collection, ranging in date from 1958 to 1982, consists of documents related to minicomputers, computer memory, military computers, graphics terminals, timesharing systems, semiconductors, and the computer industry during the 1960s and 1970s. Types of materials include brochures, pamphlets, press kits, annual reports, technical reports, manuals, industry reports, and conference proceedings. Most of the promotional materials and press kits were collected through Hobbs’s work as a consultant at Hobbs Associates, Inc. A very large number of companies are represented in this collection, including Informatics, Litton, Philco, Bit, Digital Equipment Corporation, Packard Bell, Shugart, Univac, International Business Machines, Memorex, General Electric, Comdex, and many others. The collection includes materials from the Aeronutronic division of Ford Motor Company and manuals and promotional materials related to military computers manufactured by companies like Univac and Honeywell. The collection also includes technical reports published by Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and System Development Corporation (SDC) as well as proposals and reports submitted to army and naval departments, such as the Office of Naval Research. Finally, there is information about the computer industry during the 1970s, including documentation specifically about the Japanese computer industry.

Please see below for a preliminary box level listing of the subjects in the collection:

Box 1: Graphics and display terminals, OCR; 1961-1972

Box 2: Military computers; 1958-1965

Box 3: Mixed subjects; 1953-1982

Box 4: Military computers/reports, Univac; 1960s

Box 5: Ford Aeronutronics, Philco, SRI, System Development Corporation; 1958-1976

Box 6: Minicomputers; 1963-1971

Box 7: Memory (disks and drums); 1963-1982

Box 8: Data processing industry trends and reference materials, Japanese computer industry; 1970s

Box 9: Semiconductors and microelectronics; 1960s

Box 10: Timesharing; 1966-1977

Biographical / historical:

Linder Charlie Hobbs was an engineer, computer services consultant, and venture capitalist from Orange County, California. Born on February 4, 1925 in Alabama, Hobbs attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and earned a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1948. Hobbs also earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1952 and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1956. During his early career, Hobbs worked as an engineer at the Radio Corporation of America, in the Univac division of Sperry Rand, and in the Aeronutronic division of Ford Motor Company. He started a consulting firm in 1962 called Hobbs Associates, Inc., which specialized in computer services and was located in Corona Del Mar, California. Hobbs was also a partner at Hobbs Development Associates, a venture capital firm, from 1982 to 2000. He passed away on February 7, 2014 in Corona Del Mar.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Linder Charlie Hobbs, 2012.
Processing information:

Collection surveyed by Sydney Gulbronson Olson, June 2018.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Sydney Gulbronson Olson
Date Prepared:
November 2019
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2019-11-19T13:14-0800

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. However, the collection may require review by CHM staff before viewing.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], [Date], Linder Charlie Hobbs collection, X6403.2012, Box [#], Folder [#], Computer History Museum.

Location of this collection:
1401 Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA 94043, US
Contact:
(650) 810-1010
research@computerhistory.org
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