Computer disk technology pioneer and entrepreneur Al Shugart died earlier this week after suffering from complications following heart surgery. Mr. Shugart was instrumental in developing the floppy drive prior to founding SeagateCRN reports that he was 76.
Mr. Shugart started his career in 1951 at IBM, and moved to Memorex in 1969. Later, he founded Shugart Associates where he was an early developer of floppy disk drive technology. In 1979, Mr. Shugart founded Seagate - a company that eventually became well known for its hard drive products.
Over the years, Seagate has acquired other Mac compatible hard drive makers including Connor and Maxtor.