The Father of the Internet

Dateline: 10-4-20 – It is with great sadness that I must inform you of the passing of our friend, Edson Hendricks. Edson died on August 29th, 2020 after a long illness. The amazing medium we are using right now had the most unusual beginning starting with a computer game called “Starwar”, created by young Edson Hendricks.

Edson Hendricks landed a position as a computer operator on an IBM System/360 Model 65 computer. With a 2250 video display, Hendricks created a computer game to teach himself how to program the machine. “Starwar” was the first computer video game to run on an IBM machine.

Hendricks went on to work on the team to develop the world’s first virtual machine operating system, CP/CMS. The founder and manager of IBM’s Cambridge Scientific Center, Norman Rasmussen asked Hendricks to find a way for the CSC machine to talk to IBM’s other computers at other Scientific Centers.

This was the beginning of computers doing what they are doing right now; talking with other computers, and Edson Hendricks was there.

At the ground level, you could say that Edson Hendricks was the “Father of the Internet”. Yes, people such as Arthur C. Clark and other futurists could “see” that “one day…”, but Edson figured out HOW to actually do it.

Leanne Jones and Edson were very good friends and Leanne is the author of Edson Hendricks life story, titled, “It’s Cool to Be Clever: The Story of Edson C. Hendricks, the Genius Who Invented the Design for the Internet”, and is available HERE. The book is a delight to read and the illustrations by Anna Mah are sweet. Continue reading →