Bob Wallace - Biography

Biography

Bob Wallace was born in Arlington, Virginia. He first worked on computers as a member of an Explorer Scout troop sponsored by Control Data Corp. in Bethesda, Maryland. His father was an economist who later became Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during the administration of John F. Kennedy.

Bob attended Brown University and later received his Masters in computer science from the University of Washington.

Wallace worked at the Retail Computer Store in Seattle, where he learned about Microsoft after Bill Gates put up a sign advertising for programmers. He joined Microsoft in 1978 as the 9th employee. His first project was to connect a computer to an IBM Selectric typewriter so the company could print software manuals. In the late 1970s, Wallace and Gates were known for their hijinks, and one incident involved breaking into a construction site and driving bulldozers, at one point almost running over Gates's Porsche.

In 1983, Wallace left Microsoft to form Quicksoft and distribute PC-Write using the shareware concept, which he helped originate.

In 1996, Wallace and his wife, Megan Dana-Wallace, started Mind Books, a bookstore that offered publications about psychoactive plants and compounds. In 1998, they started the Promind Foundation, which helped support scientific research, public education, and harm reduction efforts related to psychedelics.

Wallace also served on the Board of Directors for the Heffter Research Institute and helped financially support the most important organizations in the field, including the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), the Heffter Research Institute, Erowid (responsible for half of Erowid's funding from 2000–2002), DanceSafe, the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, EcstasyData, Black Rock Arts Foundation, and a number of other projects.

Bob died unexpectedly of pneumonia in San Rafael, California at age 53. On hearing of Wallace's death, Paul Allen was quoted as saying, "I remember Bob as a gentle soul who was soft-spoken, but creative, persistent and meticulous in his programming and thinking."