Don Hoefler
journalist is credited with
coining the phrase: "Silicon Valley"
(by Gregory Gromov).
. In 1971, in a series of
articles that Hoefler wrote for ELECTRONIC NEWS, a weekly tabloid, he
first used the phrase "SiliconValley" to describe the congeries
of electronics firms mushroomingin Santa Clara county.
"He pioneered the coverage of Silicon Valley as a distinct community," - said
Michael S. Malone,author of a book chronicling the industry called THE BIG
SCORE."When we think of Silicon Valley as a collection of charactersand eccentrics,
he's the one who put that whole idea in our minds,"- said Malone.
Hoefler began his career in electronics
journalism as a publicist for Fairchild Semiconductor in Mountain View. He subsequently
worked as a reporter for Fairchild Publications, owner of ELECTRONIC NEWS, and then held
editorial positions with RCA Corp. and with McGrawHill.
Don C. Hoefler died in South San Francisco
on April 15, 1986 at the ageof 63. He was publishing a weekly newsletter called
MICROELECTRONICS NEWS at the time of his death, following a recent cerebrovascular
accident
Source : Datamation ,1986, May 15, by Cahners Publishing
Company
. "The term Silicon
Valley was used occasionally mostly byeasterners who would mention making a trip
to Silicon Valley,until 1971 when it was popularized in a series of articles, ``SiliconValley
USA,'' written by Don Hoefler for Electronic News. Quitelikely
it was the first time the term was used in print.(Note30).....
...(30) Don C. Hoefler, publisher of
Microelectronics News, telephone interview, 9 January 1985.
Hoefler
was choosing a namefor an article about the semiconductor industry that he was writing for
Electronic News. Ralph Vaerst, then president of Ion
Equipment, suggested Silicon Valley. Hoefler named his article, ``Silicon
Valley USA;'' it was a series that ran for 3 weeks, beginning 11
January 1971."
Source: Carolyn Tajnai, 1995
"
Hoefler was having a hard time coming up with a good title for his series
so he asked Ralph Vaerst, then president of Ion Equipment, for a
suggestion. Vaerst gave him the idea of somehow using Silicon Valley
because he had often heard people on the east coast refer to it that way. Hoefler ,
unaware of how well the name would stick, agreed with Vaerst and named his series "Silicon
Valley USA," which was more than likely the first time the
name was used in print.
Source: Digital Equipment
Corporation, 1996
