Passing of Thomas E. Kurtz (co-creator of BASIC)

[Liamtoh Resu]

During the early seventies we had a version of time-sharing BASIC on the NCR Century computer.
It helped to reinforce concepts from math, chemistry, and physics. I was able to create small programs
for HS science experiments. We used eight level paper tape for backups.

This was a time when sliderulers and the HP-35 was the norm.

In the late seventies and through the eighties, BASIC was adapted to many microcomputers.
There was much support via books and magazines. This enabled many people to learn to
solve problems without having to be connected to universities or businesses.

Microsoft, Atari, and Commodore all had access to a version of BASIC, which were derivatives of
Kemeny's and Kurtz's BASIC.

And then there were programmable calculators with variations of BASIC included.

I am grateful for the invention of BASIC.