Bill Atkinson
American computer engineer
Died when: 74 years 80 days (890 months)Star Sign: Pisces
Bill Atkinson (born March 17, 1951) was an American computer engineer and photographer.Atkinson worked at Apple Computer from 1978 to 1990.Atkinson was the principal designer and developer of the graphical user interface (GUI) of the Apple Lisa and, later, one of the first thirty members of the original Apple Macintosh development team, and was the creator of the MacPaint application.
He also designed and implemented QuickDraw, the fundamental toolbox that the Lisa and Macintosh used for graphics.QuickDraw's performance was essential for the success of the Macintosh GUI.
He also was one of the main designers of the Lisa and Macintosh user interfaces.Atkinson also conceived, designed and implemented HyperCard, an early and influential hypermedia system.
HyperCard put the power of computer programming and database design into the hands of nonprogrammers.In 1994, Atkinson received the EFF Pioneer Award for his contributions.
