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Bernard Marshall Gordon, American inventor and philanthropist, is generally called "Bernie" rather than "Mr. Gordon" by associates and subordinates. Born not long before the stock market crash of 1929 to an ordinary working family in Springfield, Massachusetts, Bernie worked part-time in a radio shop to help support the family.
Later he headed an electronics empire built by himself and hand-picked associates and was known as "the father of high-speed solid-state analog-to-digital conversion." His name is on over 200 patents, many of which are shared with associates at Analogic Inc., the main company founded by Bernie. It is safe to say that he typifies and values what some have called the yankee spirit of innovation. At Analogic he surrounded himself with inventors, specifically rewarding creativity more than any other trait. Regarding his innovativeness, he said:
Still later in life, Bernie gave all his company shares to the Bernard M. Gordon Charitable Remainder UniTrust, which sells the shares and gives away the money. When it runs dry it will have disbursed about 300 million, mainly to institutions. Concerning this action, Bernie said:
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