Bruce Bastian

Bruce Wayne Bastian (born on March 23, 1948) is an American computer programmer and businessperson. He co-founded the WordPerfect Software Company with Alan Ashton in 1978 (originally known as Satellite Software International and then changed to WordPerfect Corporation in 1982).

Bruce Bastian
Bastian in 2011
Born
Bruce Wayne Bastian

(1948-03-23) March 23, 1948
Twin Falls, Idaho, US
Alma materBrigham Young University
Occupations
  • Computer programmer
  • businessperson
Known forCo-founding WordPerfect
Spouse
Melanie Laycock-Bastian
​
​
(m. 1976; div. 1993)​
[1]

Early life and education

Bastian was born on March 23, 1948, in Twin Falls, Idaho. He attended college at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, where he initially majored in music. While serving as the director of the BYU Cougar Marching Band, Bastian developed a software program to help choreograph marching band performances with the help of instructor Alan Ashton. After leaving his position with the marching band, he then went on to earn his master's degree in computer science.[2]

Career

Upon graduating in the spring of 1978, Bastian briefly worked for Ashton and another partner, developing word processing software. When that company shut down due to inadequate funding, Bastian took a job with the Eyring Research Institute (ERI). At ERI, Bastian briefly worked on a language translation program (unrelated to WordPerfect). Within a few months of his employment at ERI, the company signed a contract with Orem City, Utah, to produce a word processor for the city's new DEC PDP-11/34 mini computer. Since Bastian was the only employee at ERI who had a development experience with word processing, the company contracted with Bastian and Ashton to develop what would become WordPerfect. Originally the word processor was written in DEC Assembler Language. It was later ported to the IBM PC.[2]

In 2010, in honor of Bastian's long-term commitment to the arts, President Barack Obama appointed him to the Presidential Advisory Committee of the Arts.[3]

References
  1. "Melanie Laycock-Bastian". Deseret News. 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  2. Romboy, Dennis (22 June 2003), "Bastian's profile low — in Utah, at least", Deseret News, retrieved 2012-01-05
  3. "President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 2/26/10 | The White House". whitehouse.gov (Press release). 2010-02-26. Retrieved 2013-11-01 – via National Archives.
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