Brodie Lockard
Brodie Lockard is an American computer programmer who wrote the first computerized version of Mahjong solitaire on the PLATO system.[1]
Early life and education
His parents were Kirby and Dorothy Lockard (née Judge).[2] Brodie grew up in Tucson, Arizona and attended Stanford University, initially majoring in English.[1] He took courses in mathematics and computer science as he realised they might improve his luck in the job market.[1] He befriended Jeffrey Chung, a pre-med student, who told him about the PLATO system, which he had seen in Hawaii.[1] However, the system was not available in Stanford.[1]
His father was a professor at the University of Arizona, which had access to the PLATO system and Professor Lockard wanted to use the system in his classes.[1] Brodie worked for him, creating a tutorial.[1] When he returned to Stanford, he made enquiries about renting a terminal, but discovered they were prohibitively expensive.[1]
Accident
In December 1979 he suffered an accident while dismounting from a trampoline.[1][3] He awoke in hospital, on a breathing apparatus, with his limbs paralyzed.[1] He learned how to type with a mouth-stick and after his father reached out to CDC, Cindy Poulson of CDC visited Brodie, bringing her personal PLATO terminal for him to use.[1]
Mahjohg Solitaire
During his rehabilitation, Brodie was introduced to a tile-based board game, which was Mahjong solitaire, and implemented it on PLATO.[1]
Brodie moved to Hawaii in 2000.[2]
References
- Dear, Brian (19 November 2017). "How a little-known computer network system changed the history of the internet". Salon. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- "Dorothy Lockard 1928-2016". San Francisco Chronicle.
- Stone, Allison (24 January 1980). "Brodie Lockard at Valley Med - Gymnast remains paralyzed after December accident". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved 14 August 2019.