Ric Weiland
Richard Weiland (* 21st April 1953 ; † 24. June 2006 in Seattle ) was a US -American software -Pionier and philanthropist .
Career
Richard Weiland was a classmate of Paul Allen with whom he started the Lakeside Programmers Group in high school . He later graduated from Stanford University and was hired by Microsoft in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen . As one of the first five employees at Microsoft, Weiland was chief programmer and developer of MS BASIC and MS COBOL . In the meantime, Weiland moved to Harvard Business School to return to Microsoft in 1982 as project manager for MS Works .
philanthropist
Weiland donated to various organizations such as the Pride Foundation , the Lifelong AIDS Alliance , United Way of King County , the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center , Stanford University , the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network , amFAR and the National Audubon Society . He was an active member of the Northwest gay community and served on the board of directors of the Pride Foundation from 1997 to 2002 . His donations totaled over $ 100 million. In February 2008, it was announced that Weiland had donated a total of $ 65 million from his inheritance to gay and lesbian groups in addition to the $ 95 million he left to other recipients.
Weiland's life partner was Mike Schaefer. Weiland died in June 2006 of head injuries that he self-inflicted by a gunshot. It is known that Weiland suffered from depression “throughout his life” .
Web links
- “Ric Weiland, 1953-2006: Microsoft pioneer a major benefactor” , obituary in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer , June 30, 2006 (English)
proof
- ↑ a b Queer.de: “Microsoft pioneer bequeaths 65 million gay groups” , February 25, 2008
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Weiland, Ric |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Weiland, Richard (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American software pioneer and philanthropist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 21, 1953 |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 24, 2006 |
| Place of death | Seattle |