The Traitorous Eight

The Traitorous Eight

The traitorous eight was a group of eight employees who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in 1957 to found Fairchild Semiconductor.

The origin of The Traitorous Eight

William Shockley had in 1956 recruited a group of young Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) graduates with the goal to develop and produce new semiconductor devices. His management of the group was authoritarian and unpopular. This was accentuated by Shockley's research focus not proving fruitful.

After the demand for Shockley to be replaced was rebuffed, the eight left to form their own company. Shockley described their leaving as a "betrayal".

The eight who left Shockley Semiconductor were Sheldon Roberts, Eugene Kleiner, Victor Grinich, Jay Last, Julius Blank, Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore and Jean Hoerni.

Robert Noyce

Robert Noyce, often referred to as the "Mayor of Silicon Valley," left Shockley Semiconductor along with seven others to co-found Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957. Noyce's work in the semiconductor industry laid the groundwork for the microchip revolution and the eventual founding of Intel.

Robert Noyce

Robert Noyce, often referred to as the "Mayor of Silicon Valley," left Shockley Semiconductor along with seven others to co-found Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957. Noyce's work in the semiconductor industry laid the groundwork for the microchip revolution and the eventual founding of Intel.

Gordon Moore

Gordon Moore made significant contributions to the semiconductor field. He co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor and later co-founded Intel with Noyce. Moore's famous "Moore's Law" predicted the exponential growth of computing power through the miniaturization of transistors.