Dennis Ritchie

We recently studied the art of writing obituaries in my journalism class. We discussed many aspects of obituaries, including who gets one in the first place. The people that deserve this honor have to be prominent in society in some way. For good deeds or bad, we remember people for their most famous of deeds. Some deaths seem to occupy the press for weeks or months, like the recent death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. However, some people who have made remarkable contributions that affect us as people on a daily basis, hardy get a mention. Even a man who invented the language that made Apple Computers and Steve Jobs possible in the first place.

His name was Dennis Ritchie, and he was found dead in his New Jersey home on October 12, 2011, just one week after the legendary Apple visionary passed away. You see, Mr. Ritchie developed UNIX, and it was arguably the world’s first computer operating system. Bits and pieces of UNIX, and the genius behind it wound its way into most of the consumer electronics around today. Yes, even the iPhone, and that is why I stated that Ritchie made Steve Jobs possible.

The press however, went with the glitz and glam that resided in the celebrity star power of the Jobs juggernaut. In my opinion, the press really dropped the ball on a perfect teaching moment here. The press could have taught our children that success does not necessarily mean that you have a fan club that praises everything you touch, but they could have shown that a quiet and behind the scenes player can also change the world—like Ritchie did.  Keep in mind that I actually have no problem with the amount of coverage afforded the Jobs death; I just think a visionary like Ritchie could have been offered at least a mention on the national news.