Born On Your Day
Ken Thompson
A.C.Diller, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

scientist

Ken Thompson

Scientist · born February 4, 1943

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About

Kenneth Lane Thompson is an American pioneer of computer science. Thompson worked at Bell Labs for most of his career where he designed and implemented the original Unix operating system.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Milestones, by age

Dated facts from Wikidata; ages marked “about” come from year-only dates.

  1. 26Notable work: MulticsOctober 1, 1969
  2. ~40Received the Turing Award1983
  3. ~49Notable work: Plan 91992
  4. ~55Received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation1998
  5. ~68Received the Japan Prize2011

Sources

Every fact on this page traces to one of these.

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Also born on February 4

Ken's most notable birthday twins

Michael J. Saylor
billionaire

Michael J. Saylor

Entrepreneur · Strategy · software

1965 · United States

$8.8Bolder estimate, as of 2025 · Forbes

Michael Jerry Saylor is an American entrepreneur and billionaire business executive. He is the executive chairman and co-founder of Strategy Inc., formerly known as MicroStrategy, a company that provides business intelligence, mobile software, and cloud-based services.

ReasonTV, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Alice Cooper
musician

Alice Cooper

Musician

1948 · United States

Alice Cooper is an American singer and songwriter. With a career spanning over six decades, he is known for his raspy singing voice and theatrical stage shows that feature numerous props and illusions.

Ross Halfin, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Charles Lindbergh
inventor

Charles Lindbergh

Inventor

1902–1974 · United States

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris, a distance of 3,600 miles (5,800 km), flying alone for over 33 hours. His aircraft, the Spirit of St.

Harris & Ewing, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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entrepreneur

Hunter Biden

Entrepreneur

1970 · United States

Robert Hunter Biden is an American artist, disbarred former attorney, and businessman. He is the second son of former president Joe Biden and his first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden.

Sources (2)
Dan Quayle
entrepreneur

Dan Quayle

Entrepreneur

1947 · United States

James Danforth Quayle is an American retired politician and Indiana National Guard veteran who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle represented Indiana in the U.S.

U.S. Department of Defense, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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Sources (2)