Gordon Moore

Leaders of Intel in 1978:  Andy Grove,
Robert Noyce, and Gordon Moore (Chron)

He was the last of the founding fathers of Silicon Valley. Gordon Moore died at the age of 94. He achieved renown for starting Intel, but in the popular consciousness he became famous as the author of Moore's Law: [bold added]

A native San Franciscan, Moore wrote an article for the April 19, 1965, edition of Electronics magazine describing how the number of transistors that could be placed on an integrated circuit had been doubling every two years. His observation that the trend would continue became known as “Moore’s Law.”

Forecasters are lauded if their predictions pan out in the near-term; Moore's Law, to even Gordon Moore's astonishment, has held for over 50 years.

Consumers counted on its continued applicability; if they could live with their computers, television, telephone, etc. for the time being, they knew that a better and cheaper model was coming out next year.

Gordon Moore was a key member of the first generation of tech leaders who brought incalculable riches to the world. R.I.P.