Milestone: The Birthplace of Silicon Valley, 1956

Dedication Date: August 15, 2018
 

This event included the unveiling of an IEEE Milestone bronze plaque by IEEE Past President James Jefferies, and this plaque is actually installed in a larger plaque that includes extensive historical information about Shockley, Fairchild, and the “Fairchildren.”

The featured speaker was Jim Gibbons of Stanford University. The dedication took place at the San Antonio Village in Mountain View, which in part replaced the original site of the Shockley Lab building at 391 San Antonio Road.

The site includes a Technology Plaza with a Silicon Crystal Fountain, and the fountain incorporates a Silicon Module Sculpture as well as the Moore’s Law Milestone plaque that was dedicated at an evening event. There is also a Monument Area with sculptures depicting the silicon devices made at Shockley Labs, and this area is where the large plaque that includes the Birthplace Milestone plaque is located.

 
For more information:
IEEE Milestone: Birth of Silicon Valley

 

CITATION

The Birthplace of Silicon Valley, 1956

At this location, 391 San Antonio Road, the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory manufactured the first silicon devices in what became known as Silicon Valley. Some of the talented scientists and engineers initially employed there left to found their own companies, leading to the birth of the silicon electronics industry in the region. Hundreds of firms in electronics and computing can trace their origins back to Shockley Semiconductor.