Jim Gray
Database pioneer who made reliable transaction processing possible
- Lived
- 68 yrs
- 1944 – 2012
- Works listed
- 2
- Book, Website
- Honours
- 2
- Most recent 1998
- Profile views
- 2
- 0 followers
Jim Gray was an American computer scientist whose work on transactions made databases reliable enough for banking, airline booking and online shopping. He received the Turing Award in 1998. In 2007 he disappeared while sailing alone off San Francisco and was never found.
Biography
Education
Gray earned the first PhD in computer science awarded by the University of California, Berkeley, in 1969.
Transactions
At IBM, where he worked on the System R relational database, and later at Tandem Computers and DEC, Gray developed the theory and practice of transactions — making sure a group of database changes either all happen or none do, even if the computer crashes. These ideas are summed up in the ACID properties.
Microsoft Research
Joining Microsoft in 1995, he founded its San Francisco research lab and worked on huge scientific databases, including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the TerraServer satellite-image site. He championed data-intensive science, which he called the “fourth paradigm”.
Disappearance
On 28 January 2007 Gray sailed out of San Francisco Bay in his yacht Tenacious to scatter his mother’s ashes and never returned. A large search, including volunteers studying satellite images online, failed to find him. He was legally declared dead in 2012.
Timeline
-
1944
Born in San Francisco, California, United States
-
1969
First Berkeley computer science PhD
-
1972
Joins IBM Research
-
1980
Joins Tandem Computers
-
1993
Publishes Transaction Processing
-
1995
Joins Microsoft Research
-
1998
Turing Award
-
2007
Lost at sea
-
2012
Died, aged 68
Notable works
-
1993
Transaction Processing: Concepts and Techniques Book
With Andreas Reuter.
-
1998
TerraServer Website
Awards and honours
-
ACM Software System Award
1988
-
Turing Award
1998
Did you know?
-
1
Thousands of volunteers scanned satellite images online to look for his boat.
-
2
The Jim Gray eScience Award is named after him.
-
3
He coined the “five-minute rule” for when to keep data in memory.
Connections
Related people
Also born on 12 January
-
Swami Vivekananda
Historical Figures · Hindu monk and philosopher who introduced Vedanta and Yoga to the West
1863
-
Mithila Palkar
Film & TV · Actress who rose to fame through web series
1993
-
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
Politics & Leadership · Member of Parliament for Wayanad and Congress general secretary
1972
-
Jeff Bezos
Technology · Founder of Amazon and the spaceflight company Blue Origin
1964
Frequently asked
Who is Jim Gray?
Jim Gray was an American computer scientist whose work on transactions made databases reliable enough for banking, airline booking and online shopping. He received the Turing Award in 1998. In 2007 he disappeared while sailing alone off San Francisco and was never found.
When did Jim Gray die?
Jim Gray died on 28 January 2012 at the age of 68.
Where is Jim Gray from?
Jim Gray was born in San Francisco, California, United States.
What is Jim Gray known for?
Jim Gray is best known for Database transactions; ACID properties; System R; Turing Award 1998.
What awards has Jim Gray received?
Notable honours include ACM Software System Award (1988), Turing Award (1998).
References
- Jim Gray (computer scientist) — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Jim Gray (computer scientist) — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Jim Gray (computer scientist) — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. research.microsoft.com. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Jim Gray (computer scientist) (Q92606) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Jim Gray (computer scientist)”, 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
“Jim Gray.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/jim-gray
Discussion 0
Sign in or create an account to join the discussion.
No comments yet — be the first.
More in Science
Science
Marvin Minsky
Co-founder of MIT’s artificial intelligence laboratory and a founding father of AI
1927 – 2016
Science
Peter Naur
Danish computer scientist who edited the ALGOL 60 report and refined Backus–Naur form
1928 – 2016
Science
Yann LeCun
French-American AI pioneer who invented convolutional neural networks
Born 1959
Science
Margaret Hamilton
MIT engineer who led the software for the Apollo Moon landings and coined “software engineering”
1936 – 2026
Science
Nikola Tesla
Serbian-American inventor of the alternating-current induction motor
1856 – 1943
John Cocke
IBM researcher who invented RISC computer architecture
1925 – 2002