Rounding out our Black History Month series, we have a feature on Roy L. Clay.

Before they was Bill Gates, there was Roy L. Clay. Mr. Clay led the team that engineered HP’s entrance into the computer market with the development of the 2116A computer in 1966. Not only was Mr. Clay the Director for the first HP Research and Development Computer Group, he also developed the software for the 2116A computer.

In 1977, when he left HP, he created his own company, Rod L Electronics.

In the mid-1970s, Clay discovered that Underwriters Laboratories was going to require an electrical safety test on electrical products to ensure that they wouldn’t shock or cause a fire. He reached out to HP, IBM, AT&T and Xerox; all of whom partnered with him.

For years, computers carried a Rod-L sticker. “If it didn’t have Rod-L on that rear panel, it meant it was not a real IBM computer,” Clay said.
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