Are you an avid gamer? Whether you like games such as Pac-Man, Super Mario, Call of Duty, or Animal Crossing, our modern version of video games would not exist without the pioneering efforts of a black engineer named Jerry Lawson.
In 1976, Lawson helped oversee the creation of the Channel F (for “Fun”), the first-ever home video game console that came with interchangeable game cartridges. Lawson was working as an engineer and designer (one of the few black men in the entire software industry) at Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp., when he was put in charge of creating a video game system to utilize Fairchild’s F8 microprocessor to store games on physical cartridges. The Channel F came with an assortment of games, including hockey, tennis, blackjack, and a maze-like precursor to Pac-Man.
Lawson got interested in engineering as a teen when he made money by repairing televisions in his hometown of Queens, New York. He attended college for a while, but never earned a degree. When he moved to California’s Silicon Valley, he belonged to the Homebrew Computing Club with Apple founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. In the 1980s, when Lawson left Fairchild, he started his own gaming company, Videosoft, which made some of the first ever 3-D video games.
In 2011, Lawson died at the age of 70 from complications due to diabetes. Lawson’s achievements are on a permanent display in The World Video Game Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.
To honor of Black History Month and the Father of Modern Gaming go play your favorite video game today! If you’re looking for a new game to try, visit the library and check out our video game collections!