Tom West

For the rugby player, see Tom West (rugby union). For other uses, see Thomas West (disambiguation).

Joseph Thomas West III (November 22, 1939 – May 19, 2011)^[1] was an American technologist. He is notable for being the protagonist in the Pulitzer Prize winning non-fiction book The Soul of a New Machine.^[2]

Tom West
West in 2009 at home in Westport, Massachusetts
Born	Joseph Thomas West III (1939-11-22)November 22, 1939 Bronxville, New York, U.S.
Died	May 19, 2011(2011-05-19) (aged 71) Westport, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater	Amherst College, B.A. 1962
Spouses	Elizabeth Cohon ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1994)​ Cindy Woodward ​ ​ (m. 2001; div. 2011)​
Children	2, including Jessamyn West

Career

West began his career in computer design at RCA, after seven years at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, a job he received right out of college.^[3] He started working for Data General in 1974.^[3] He became the head of Data General's Eclipse group and then became the lead on the Eagle project, building a machine officially named the Eclipse MV/8000.^[3] After the publication of Soul of a New Machine, West was sent to Japan by Data General where he helped design DG-1, the first full-screen laptop.^[3] His last project in 1996, a thin Web server, was intended to be an internet-ready machine.^[4] West retired as Chief Technologist in 1998.^[5]

Personal life

West was married to Elizabeth (Cohon) West in 1965; they divorced in 1994.^[6] The couple had two daughters, Katherine West and librarian Jessamyn West.^[7] West married Cindy Woodward (his former assistant at Data General) in 2001; the couple divorced in 2011. West died at the age of 71 in his Westport, Massachusetts, home of an apparent heart attack.^[6] His nephew, Christopher Schwarz, is a former editor of Popular Woodworking magazine, author of The Anarchist's Toolchest, and co-founder of Lost Art Press; West's death prompted Schwarz to "leave the magazine and do my own thing".^[8]