RICHARD PICK

Born: October 3, 1940

Passed: October 6, 1994

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Why Richard Pick Mattered

Richard A. "Dick" Pick forever changed the way business data is stored, organized, and accessed. As the creator of the Pick operating system and database model, he introduced revolutionary concepts that were decades ahead of their time, including a MultiValue data architecture, a data dictionary, an integrated operating system and database, and an application environment designed specifically for business computing. These innovations enabled organizations to build powerful business applications with unprecedented speed and flexibility, influencing generations of database technologies. Today, millions of users and thousands of organizations continue to rely on systems descended from Dick Pick's original vision, making him one of the most influential yet often overlooked pioneers in the history of computing.

In Memoriam

The MultiValue community lost its founder with the passing of Richard A. "Dick" Pick. Although his name is not as widely recognized as many other pioneers of the computer industry, his ideas transformed enterprise computing and established a database model that continues to power businesses around the world more than half a century after its creation.

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Dick began his career at TRW, where he worked on an information management system developed as part of a U.S. Army project. Although the original project was canceled, Dick recognized that its information management concepts had far greater potential. Building upon that foundation, he developed what would become the Pick operating system, introducing an integrated environment that combined the operating system, database, programming language, query language, and application framework into a single cohesive platform.

Unlike traditional databases that organized information into rigid rows and columns, Dick's MultiValue data model reflected the way businesses naturally organize information. His architecture allowed applications to be developed more rapidly while remaining remarkably flexible as business requirements evolved. These concepts would later inspire generations of MultiValue database systems, including Reality, UniVerse, UniData, D3, jBASE, OpenQM, mvBase, and many others.

Dick's entrepreneurial vision led to the commercialization of his technology through Microdata and later through Pick Systems, the company he founded in 1982. Under his leadership, Pick Systems licensed the technology worldwide, creating one of the largest ecosystems of independent hardware manufacturers, software developers, and solution providers in the business computing industry. At its peak, Pick technology was deployed on hundreds of thousands of systems serving organizations in manufacturing, healthcare, finance, retail, distribution, education, and government.

Those who knew Dick remember not only his technical brilliance but also his curiosity, creativity, and willingness to challenge conventional thinking. His passion extended beyond computers to environmental conservation, where he actively supported efforts to preserve marine life along the Southern California coast. Whether discussing database architecture or artificial reefs, Dick approached every challenge with the same enthusiasm for finding better solutions.

Richard Pick's influence can still be found wherever MultiValue databases are used today. Every application built upon the Pick model, every developer who writes MultiValue BASIC, and every organization that continues to depend upon MultiValue technology reflects the enduring strength of the architecture he created. His work established an industry, inspired generations of innovators, and proved that elegant solutions often come from questioning accepted assumptions.

The MultiValue community extends its deepest sympathies to Dick Pick's family, friends, colleagues, and the countless people whose careers were shaped by his vision. His name will forever remain synonymous with the technology that bears his name, and his contributions to computing will continue to influence future generations.

This memorial will be updated as additional verified historical and biographical information becomes available.