Clive Sinclair, creator of the ZX Spectrum home computer, has died

Clive Sinclair, the creator of the legendary ZX Spectrum series of home computers, has passed away after a long illness at the age of 81. The British entrepreneur was ill with cancer, his daughter Belinda told The Guardian.

On the first day of spring 1980, Sinclair Research LTD unveiled the ZX80 gaming computer with the Z80 chip manufactured by ZiLOG. Thus began an era of affordable home computers costing around £100, after which Sinclair was knighted. Following the ZX80, the company introduced the ZX81, and the real hit was the ZX Spectrum, which officially sold 5 million units

. In 1985 Clive Sinclair introduced the Sinclair C5 single-seat vehicle. The three-wheeler was not as popular as the computer. Even before all this, the legendary Briton founded Sinclair Radionics, which produced amplifiers, calculators and clocks.

Interestingly enough, the entrepreneur himself was not very fond of using electronic devices. According to his daughter Belinda Sinclair, between a calculator and a slide rule his father always preferred the latter.

Source: The Register