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Fernando J. Corbató
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Fernando J. Corbató

MIT pioneer of time-sharing and creator of the computer password

1 July 1926 – 12 July 2019 United States Verified by our editors
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Lived
93 yrs
1926 – 2019
Works listed
2
Operating system
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Fernando Corbató was an American computer scientist at MIT who led the development of CTSS, one of the first time-sharing systems, and the influential Multics operating system. CTSS introduced the use of passwords on computers. He received the Turing Award in 1990.

Biography

Background

Corbató was born in Oakland to a Spanish father who taught literature. He served in the US Navy, studied physics at Caltech and earned a PhD in physics at MIT in 1956.

Time-sharing

In the 1950s users submitted programs and waited hours for results. Corbató’s Compatible Time-Sharing System, first demonstrated in 1961, let many users work at the same computer simultaneously from terminals. CTSS introduced password log-ins and early forms of email and file sharing.

Multics

He then led Multics, a joint project of MIT, Bell Labs and General Electric begun in 1964. Multics pioneered hierarchical file systems, security rings and dynamic linking; its ideas inspired Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie to create Unix.

Legacy

Corbató received the Turing Award in 1990. Corbató’s law holds that programmers write about the same number of lines of code per day regardless of language. He died in 2019 aged 93.

Timeline

  1. 1926

    Born in Oakland, California, United States

  2. 1956

    PhD in physics from MIT

  3. 1961

    CTSS demonstrated

  4. 1964

    Multics project begins

  5. 1966

    W. Wallace McDowell Award

  6. 1990

    Turing Award

  7. 1996

    Retires from MIT

  8. 2019

    Died, aged 93

Notable works

  • 1961

    Compatible Time-Sharing System Operating system

  • 1969

    Multics Operating system

    With MIT, GE and Bell Labs.

Awards and honours

  • W. Wallace McDowell Award

    1966

  • Harry H. Goode Memorial Award

    1980

  • Turing Award

    1990

Did you know?

  1. 1

    In later life he acknowledged that passwords had become a security headache.

  2. 2

    Unix’s name is a pun on Multics.

  3. 3

    His father taught Spanish literature at UCLA.

Connections

Also born on 1 July

Frequently asked

Who is Fernando J. Corbató?

Fernando Corbató was an American computer scientist at MIT who led the development of CTSS, one of the first time-sharing systems, and the influential Multics operating system. CTSS introduced the use of passwords on computers. He received the Turing Award in 1990.

When did Fernando J. Corbató die?

Fernando J. Corbató died on 12 July 2019 at the age of 93.

Where is Fernando J. Corbató from?

Fernando J. Corbató was born in Oakland, California, United States.

What is Fernando J. Corbató known for?

Fernando J. Corbató is best known for Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS); Multics; first computer passwords; Turing Award 1990.

What awards has Fernando J. Corbató received?

Notable honours include W. Wallace McDowell Award (1966), Harry H. Goode Memorial Award (1980), Turing Award (1990).

References

  1. Fernando J. Corbató — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  2. Fernando J. Corbató — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  3. Fernando J. Corbató (Q92625) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.

Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Fernando J. Corbató”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more

External links

Wikipedia
Filed under MITOperating systemsTuring Award Computer ScientistProfessor

About this profile

Cite this page

“Fernando J. Corbató.” TrackFame, last updated 4 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/fernando-corbato

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