Historical Record of Chinese Americans | Chinese American Figure: Computer Industry Magnate, Inventor, and philanthropist Dr. An Wang
As the fifth richest American in 1984, with 40 patents and 23 honorary degrees, Dr. An Wang was a computer industry magnate, inventor, and philanthropist who founded Wang Labs, which successfully competed with large companies such as IBM in the 1970s and 1980s. In the mid-1940s, after passing the competitive China Overseas Graduate Examination, he was accepted by Harvard University as a Ph.D. student and became a leading figure in the electronics industry in the world. His breakthrough in manufacturing core memory equipment was one of the greatest technological innovations of the last century. His Fortune 500 company Wang Labs, became a market leader in desktop calculators, word processors, and IBM-compatible mainframe computers. Most of his philanthropy was dedicated to strengthening understanding between Chinese and Western cultures and improving the arts, schools, and health care in Boston and surrounding communities in Massachusetts.
