Tom West

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

West's career in computer design began at RCA, but his path to fame started after seven years at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, a job he landed straight out of college. In 1974, he joined Data General, eventually becoming head of the Eclipse group and then lead on the Eagle project, which produced the machine officially named the Eclipse MV/8000. The project was chronicled in Tracy Kidder's *The Soul of a New Machine*, which won the Pulitzer Prize and made West a central figure in tech lore. After the book's publication, Data General sent West to Japan, where he helped design the DG-1, described as the first full-screen laptop. His final project, in 1996, was a thin Web server intended to be an internet-ready machine. He retired as Chief Technologist in 1998. West's career spanned from mainframes to laptops to web servers, reflecting the rapid evolution of computing.

In Their Own Story

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

Reader's Guide

Tom West's legacy is defined by his role as the lead engineer on the Eagle project, which built the Eclipse MV/8000 at Data General. His team's intense, often grueling work was documented in *The Soul of a New Machine*, a Pulitzer Prize-winning book that turned West into a symbol of the engineer's craft. After the book, he was sent to Japan to help design the DG-1, the first full-screen laptop, and later worked on a thin Web server in 1996 before retiring as Chief Technologist in 1998. West's career shows a trajectory from mainframe design at RCA to portable computing and early internet devices. His personal life included two marriages—first to Elizabeth Cohon in 1965 (divorced 1994), then to Cindy Woodward in 2001 (divorced 2011)—and two daughters. He died at 71 of an apparent heart attack at his Westport, Massachusetts home. His nephew Christopher Schwarz credited West's death with inspiring him to leave his magazine job and pursue independent work.

Did You Know?

• Tom West was the protagonist of the Pulitzer Prize-winning non-fiction book *The Soul of a New Machine*.
• He began his career at RCA after seven years at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, a job he got right out of college.
• West helped design the DG-1, the first full-screen laptop, while in Japan for Data General.
• His last project in 1996 was a thin Web server intended to be an internet-ready machine.
• West's nephew, Christopher Schwarz, said West's death prompted him to leave *Popular Woodworking* magazine and start his own venture.