Subscribe
NewsOne Featured Video
CLOSE

One of the founding fathers of video games, Gerald A. Lawson, passed away on April 9 at the age of 70.

ALSO READ: Hello Beautiful’s 25 Women To Know

A Queens native, Lawson was one of the few African-Americans working in Silicon Valley during the video game industry boom.

Lawson designed the electronics of the Fairchild Video Entertainment System. It later got the name Channel F, in 1976.

His invention predated the release of Atari’s Video Computer System by a year and was the first videogame machine that used interchangeable game cartridges.

RELATED:

Google, Silicon Valley Criticized Over Lack Of Black Employees

Video Game Titles We Can’t Wait To Play