William Norris (CEO)

William Charles Norris (* July 14, 1911 in Red Cloud (Nebraska ); † August 21, 2006 in Bloomington, Minnesota) was an American computer pioneer. He founded in 1957 the Control Data Corporation (CDC), which showed, inter alia, the supercomputer manufacturer Cray Research. Norris was a farmer 's son from Nebraska, who showed an early interest in art.

By 1932, he studied electrical engineering at the University of Nebraska. He then worked for Westinghouse. During the Second World War he served in the Navy and took part in the deciphering German radio messages. The experience gained there, he used after the war at the Engineering Research Associates ( ERA ). ERA was acquired by Sperry Rand and Norris was until 1957 Vice- President at Sperry Rand. This year, Norris left with the design department and founded the Group CDC.