-
William Bradford Shockley Jr. is born in London, England
-
Shockley moves to Los Angeles, California
-
Shockley receives a bachelor's degree in Physics from the California Institute of Technology
-
Shockley earns doctorate in physics from MIT.
-
Shockley is hired by Bell Labs
-
Shockley joins a research team at Bell Labs that focuses on studying solid state physics
-
Early 1940, Shockley attempts and fails to build a copper-oxide amplifier. He gets helps from Walter Brattain, who also fails to make the invention work.
-
In late 1940, Shockley works on improving radar at Bell Labs as part of the war effort.
-
Shockley begins civilian work for the U.S. Navy, working with depth charges, techniques to find enemy submarines, and ways to avoid enemy bombers.
-
Shockley transitions focus of work to the Army Air Forces, which eventually becomes the U.S. Air Force. He worked to develop training methods for airmen who use radar.
-
Shockley returns to Bell Labs following the approach of the end of the war. He continues work on a solid-state amplifier, but leaves development to others when his design fails.
-
Walter Brattain and John Bardeen develop the Point-Contact Transistor in 1947 under Shockley's management but without his significant involvement. Shockley, frustrated that he did not contribute more to the project, develops in secret the junction transistor, an improvement on the point contact transistor. He does not reveal it to his colleagues until mid-February.
-
Shockley founds the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Northern California, starting what becomes Silicon Valley.
-
Shockley wins the 1956 Nobel Prize along with John Bardeen and Walter Brattain.
-
Shockley dies in Stanford, California
