Jack Kilby
Texas Instruments engineer who invented the integrated circuit
- Lived
- 81 yrs
- 1923 – 2005
- Works listed
- 2
- Invention
- Honours
- 4
- Most recent 2000
- Profile views
- 2
- 0 followers
Jack Kilby was an American electrical engineer at Texas Instruments who built the first integrated circuit in 1958, putting multiple electronic components on a single piece of semiconductor. He also co-invented the handheld calculator and received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000.
Biography
Background
Kilby grew up in Kansas, where his father ran an electric company, and studied electrical engineering at the University of Illinois after war service. He worked at Centralab in Milwaukee making circuits for hearing aids.
The chip
Joining Texas Instruments in 1958, he spent the summer, while most staff were on holiday, working on the “tyranny of numbers” — the difficulty of wiring together thousands of components. On 12 September 1958 he demonstrated a working circuit made from a single piece of germanium. Robert Noyce independently invented a silicon version months later.
Calculators
Kilby led the TI team that invented the handheld electronic calculator in 1967 and the thermal printer. He held more than 60 patents.
Nobel Prize
He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000 for his part in inventing the integrated circuit; Noyce had died in 1990 and could not share it. Kilby died in Dallas in 2005.
Timeline
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1923
Born in Jefferson City, Missouri, United States
-
1947
Graduates from the University of Illinois
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1958
Joins TI; demonstrates the first integrated circuit
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1967
Handheld calculator invented
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1969
National Medal of Science
-
1990
National Medal of Technology
-
2000
Nobel Prize in Physics
-
2005
Dies in Dallas
-
2005
Died, aged 81
Notable works
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1958
Integrated circuit Invention
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1967
Cal Tech handheld calculator prototype Invention
With Jerry Merryman and James Van Tassel.
Awards and honours
-
National Medal of Science
1969
-
Charles Stark Draper Prize
1989
-
National Medal of Technology
1990
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Nobel Prize in Physics
2000
Did you know?
-
1
He invented the chip because, as a new employee, he had no holiday to take that summer.
-
2
He was 1.98 metres tall and soft-spoken.
-
3
He said he never expected the chip to become so important.
Connections
Also born on 8 November
-
L. K. Advani
Politics & Leadership · Former Deputy Prime Minister of India and co-founder of the Bharatiya Janata Party
1927
-
Aaron Swartz
Technology · Programmer and activist who helped create RSS, Reddit and Creative Commons
1986
-
Bill Joy
Technology · Co-founder of Sun Microsystems and author of the vi editor and BSD Unix
1954
Frequently asked
Who is Jack Kilby?
Jack Kilby was an American electrical engineer at Texas Instruments who built the first integrated circuit in 1958, putting multiple electronic components on a single piece of semiconductor. He also co-invented the handheld calculator and received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000.
When did Jack Kilby die?
Jack Kilby died on 20 June 2005 at the age of 81.
Where is Jack Kilby from?
Jack Kilby was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, United States.
What is Jack Kilby known for?
Jack Kilby is best known for Inventing the integrated circuit (1958); co-inventing the handheld calculator; Nobel Prize in Physics 2000.
What awards has Jack Kilby received?
Notable honours include National Medal of Science (1969), Charles Stark Draper Prize (1989), National Medal of Technology (1990), Nobel Prize in Physics (2000).
References
- Jack Kilby — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Jack Kilby — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Jack Kilby — Nobel Prize facts. NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Jack Kilby — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Jack Kilby (Q182031) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Jack Kilby”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Jack Kilby.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/jack-kilby
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