Hardware engineer / entrepreneur
July 30, 1940 – September 16, 2021
INDUCTED IN THE CLASS OF 2002
Notable accomplishments:
- Developed the world’s first slimline pocket calculator, the Sinclair Executive (1972)
- Developed the ZX80 home computer (1980)
- Developed the ZX81 personal computer (1981)
- Developed the ZX Spectrum personal computer (1982)
Quotes:
“IBM is a fair competitor which has its views on the market-place as we have ours, and which of us succeeds in whichever market will be the one that does the better job. That is fair and straightforward. I do not relish the fight – nothing makes life more complicated than competitors – but I do not mind it. I think IBM is at a tremendous disadvantage because of its size. It makes it harder for them to react swiftly, but there is the tremendous advantage of their experience and technical base.” (Interview in Practical Computing, July 1982)
“I don’t use a computer at all. I’ve got people to do it for me. We’ve got a computer in the front office, but I get someone to do it for me.” (Interview in The Guardian, Feb. 27, 2010)
Suggested reading:
“The Sinclair Story” by Rodney Dale (1985)
“Sinclair and the ‘Sunrise’ Technology” by Ian Adamson and Richard Kennedy (1986)
Learn more:
Clive Sinclair page at Planet Sinclair