Marcian Hoff

The microprocessor architecture. When the Japanese calculator maker Busicom asked Intel in 1969 for a set of custom chips, Hoff proposed instead a general-purpose processor that software could adapt to any task, and worked out its architecture with Stan Mazor. That became the 4004 of 1971, the first commercial single-chip microprocessor, and the principle of one cheap programmable chip underlies every personal computer since.