This Day In Market History: First Patent Issued For Integrated Circuit

Each day, Benzinga takes a look back at a notable market-related moment that occurred on this date.

What Happened? On April 25, 1961, Intel Corporation INTC co-founder Robert Noyce was awarded the first-ever patent for an integrated circuit.

Where The Market Was: The Dow finished the day at 683.09. The S&P 500 traded at 65.30.

What Else Was Going On In The World? In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first human to travel into space. Yankee Roger Maris hit 61 home runs, breaking Babe Ruth’s longstanding record of 60 home runs in a season. The average cost of a new house in the U.S. was $12,500.

The Building Block Of The Digital Age: Noyce was a pioneer in the computer industry and his crowning achievement was the creation of the silicon integrated circuit, or microchip, which was patented in April 1961.

The Silicon Valley region of California that has served as the epicenter for U.S. technical innovation was named after the material used in Noyce’s chip.

The patent was awarded to Fairchild Semiconductor, where Noyce was working at the time. In 1968, Noyce left Fairchild and co-founded Intel along with Gordon Moore.

Fairchild Semiconductor was purchased by ON Semiconductor ON in 2016 for $2.4 billion. Intel’s current market value is $193 billion.

Noyce ultimately earned the nickname the “mayor of Silicon Valley” for his contributions to the industry.

Photo by Intel Free Press via Wikimedia.