From Wheeler County farmer to father of the personal computer

Editor’s note: The following story is part of a feature called Home Grown in which we take a look at the people and products that have made a name for themselves well beyond our Middle Georgia borders.

Dr. Ed Roberts was general practitioner in Cochran. He also worked a farm in Wheeler County. And he was an inventor who changed the world.

Roberts created the Altair 8800 in 1974. It was the first popular, widely available personal computer, and its success allowed a generation of programmers to alter the way the world communicates.

When they first encountered the Altair, Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen were so impressed that they wrote software for it. It was a key early triumph for their young company.

Roberts died April 1, 2010, at The Medical Center of Central Georgia after a battle with pneumonia. During one of his final days, a special visitor appeared at his bedside. Gates, the world’s richest man, had come to Macon to say goodbye to a man who had enriched the world.

This story was originally published November 15, 2016 at 11:56 AM with the headline "From Wheeler County farmer to father of the personal computer."