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Guide to the Linder Charlie Hobbs collection X6403.2012
X6403.2012  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Processing Information
  • Access Restrictions
  • Publication Rights
  • Immediate Source of Acquisition
  • Biographical/Historical Note
  • Scope and Content of the Collection
  • Preferred Citation

  • Title: Linder Charlie Hobbs collection
    Identifier/Call Number: X6403.2012
    Contributing Institution: Computer History Museum
    Language of Material: English
    Physical Description: 12.5 Linear feet 10 record cartons
    Date (inclusive): 1958-1982
    creator: Hobbs, Linder Charlie

    Processing Information

    Collection surveyed by Sydney Gulbronson Olson, June 2018.

    Access Restrictions

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

    Publication Rights

    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.

    Immediate Source of Acquisition

    Gift of Linder Charlie Hobbs, 2012.

    Biographical/Historical Note

    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.

    Scope and Content of the Collection

    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

    Preferred Citation

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

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Computer Industry
    Computer systems
    Ford Motor Company, Aeronutronic division
    Minicomputers
    Philco Corporation
    Sperry Rand Corporation. Univac Division
    United States. Office of Naval Research