Traitorous Eight
From Free net encyclopedia
The traitorous eight are eight men who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory to form Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957. This derogatory term was used by William Shockley, director of Shockley Labs, while the more neutral term was the "Fairchild Eight" or the "Fairchildren"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
They left because they did not agree or work well with William Shockley's managerial style. Specifically, he wanted the research done his way and expected a certain result instead of letting the research guide them. Shockley envisioned the operation of the Laboratory as if the researchers were the Knights of the Round Table and he were King Arthur.<ref>ibid.</ref>
The eight employees went to Arnold Beckman and asked him to replace Shockley. Beckman tried to find a new manager and left Shockley as a director with limited powers. As the search dragged on, it became apparent that Beckman could not find a replacement so he restored Shockley's responsibilities. The eight men then resigned and signed a research contract with Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation to form Fairchild Semiconductor.
Their entrepreneurial desires did not end with Fairchild. Like many other Fairchild employees, seven of the eight went on to found various spinoff companies. (These spinoffs and their founders are sometimes known as "Fairchildren"). The most successful were Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, founders of Intel, and Eugene Kleiner, co-founder of the Kleiner Perkins venture capital firm. Additionally, Sheldon Roberts, Jean Hoerni and Jay Last founded what later became Teledyne, while Julius Blank co-founded Xicor.
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