Roy L. Clay Sr. (August 22, 1929 – September 22, 2024) was an American computer scientist and inventor. He was a founding member of the computer division at Hewlett-Packard, where he led the team that created the HP 2116A 16-bit minicomputer. He served as Chief Executive Officer of ROD-L Electronics, an electrical-safety test equipment manufacturer.
Early life and education
Clay was born on August 22, 1929, in Ferguson, Missouri or Kinloch, Missouri.[1][2][3] At the time, Kinloch was the oldest African-American community that was incorporated in Missouri.[2] During his summer holidays, he worked as a gardener in Ferguson, but was encouraged by the local police to leave the majority white town.[4] Despite experiencing racism throughout his childhood, Clay's mother told him, "you will face racism the rest of your life, but don't ever let that be a reason why you don't succeed".[4][5][6]
Clay attended Douglass High School, a segregated school, and eventually was awarded a scholarship to study mathematics at Saint Louis University (SLU).[1][6] While at SLU, Clay wanted to become a baseball player.[6] He was one of the first African-Americans to graduate from SLU, earning a bachelor's degree in math in 1951.[4]
Career
After struggling to find work in technology, Clay started work as a school teacher.[7] At an interview for McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, Clay was taken aside and told "Mr. Clay, I'm very sorry, we don't hire professional Negroes".[6] He taught himself to write software, and by 1958 was a programmer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).[1] Clay's early professional work involved creating a radiation tracking system to study the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.[4] While working at LLNL, Clay was introduced to David Packard, who encouraged Clay to apply for a job.[8]
After leaving LLNL, Clay worked at Control Data Corporation, where he created new Fortrancompilers.[4][9] In 1962, Clay moved to Palo Alto, California.[6] Clay joined Hewlett-Packard (HP), where he helped to launch and lead the Computer Science division in 1965.[10][11] He was director of the team who developed the HP 2116A, one of the company's first minicomputers. Clay stayed at HP into the 1970s, eventually rising to being the highest-ranking African-American member of staff.[1] While working at HP, Clay developed several initiatives to improve the representation of African-Americans in Silicon Valley, including hiring from HBCUs.[12] He recognized the need to test electrical products for safety, and left HP in 1971 to start his own business.[10]
In 1977, Clay was the founder of ROD-L Electronics in Menlo Park, California, a "hipot and electrical-safety test equipment manufacturer."[7] ROD-L was the first producer of electrical safety test equipment to be certified by the UL.[13]
In 2002, Clay was elected by the African American Museum and Library at Oakland as one of the most important African-Americans working in technology.[10]San Mateo County awarded ROD-L Electronics the Dads Count Family Friendly Employer Award, and Clay was inducted into the Silicon Valley Hall of Fame in 2003.[14]
Personal life
Clay was married to Virginia Clay for 38 years, with whom he had three sons: Roy Jr, Rodney, and Chris.[15] After his wife died in 1995, Clay founded the Virginia Clay Annual Golf Classic.[6] Clay was involved with local politics, and was the first African-American to join the city council of Palo Alto. He was elected vice mayor in 1976.[1][4] In 1989, he became the first African-American member of the Olympic Club.[16] Clay published a memoir, Unstoppable: The Unlikely Story of a Silicon Valley Godfather, in July 2022.[3][17] He died on September 22, 2024, at the age of 95.[3]
