Roy Clay facts for kids

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. He served as Chief Executive Officer of ROD-L electronics and was involved with the development of electrical safety equipment.

Early life and education

Clay was born in Kinloch, Missouri. At the time, Kinloch was the oldest African-American community that was incorporated in Missouri. During his summer holidays, he worked as a gardener in Ferguson, Missouri, but was encouraged by the local police to leave the majority white town. Despite experiencing racism throughout his childhood, Clay's mother told him to "you will face racism the rest of your life, but don't ever let that be a reason why you don't succeed".

Clay attended a segregated school and eventually was awarded a scholarship to study mathematics at Saint Louis University (SLU). Whilst at SLU, Clay wanted to become a baseball player. He was one of the first African-Americans to graduate from SLU, earning a bachelor's degree in 1951.

Career

After struggling to find work in technology, Clay started work as a school teacher. 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". He taught himself to write software, and by 1958 was a programmer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Clay's early professional work involved creating a radiation tracking system to study the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. Whilst working at LLNL, Clay was introduced to David Packard, who encouraged Clay to apply for a job.

After leaving LLNL, Clay worked at Control Data Corporation, where he created new Fortran compilers. In 1962, Clay moved to Palo Alto, California. Clay joined Hewlett-Packard (HP), where he helped to launch and lead the Computer Science division in 1965. He was director of the team who developed the HP 2116A, one of the company's first mini-computers. Clay stayed at HP into the 1970s, eventually rising to being the highest-ranking African-American member of staff. Whilst working at HP, Clay developed several initiatives to improve the representation of African-Americans in Silicon Valley. He recognised the need to test electrical products for safety, and left HP in 1971 to start his own business.

In 1977, Clay was the founding director of ROD-L Electronics, based in Menlo Park, California, a "hipot and electrical-safety test equipment manufacturer."

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. 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.

Personal life

Clay was married to Virginia Clay, with whom he had three sons. After his wife died in 1995, Clay founded the Virginia Clay Annual Golf Classic. 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. Clay published a memoir, Unstoppable: The Unlikely Story of a Silicon Valley Godfather. He died on September 22, 2024, at the age of 95.