Erwin Tomash

Erwin Tomash (November 17, 1921 – December 10, 2012) was the co-founder of Dataproducts Corporation which specialized in computer technology, specifically printers and core memory units. He is recognized for his early pioneering work with computer equipment peripherals, played the leading role in creating the Charles Babbage Institute, and is responsible for The Adelle and Erwin Tomash Fellowship in the History of Information Technology and The Erwin Tomash Library. He died at age 91 in his home in Soquel, California and had suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Erwin Tomash graduated from the University of Minnesota with his electrical engineering degree in 1943.

Upon graduating from the University of Minnesota, Tomash joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps, where he worked with radar, and was awarded the Bronze Star for his wartime activities. Following his time with the Army Signal Corps, Tomash served at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory briefly, before joining the Engineering Research Associates. As a research associate, he worked on developing electronic computers, including the ERA 1103 or UNIVAC Scientific. In 1956 he joined Telemeter Magnetic in Los Angeles. He became the company's president soon after and oversaw Telemeter Magnetics' design of core memories for computers. In 1962 he left Telemeter Magnetic, and co-founded Dataproducts Corporation.

Dataproducts Corporation was co-founded by Erwin Tomash in 1962, and specialized in computer peripherals, with a focus on printers. In 1966 core memory was added to the product line, and due to its resulting expansion, the company relocated to Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California in 1968. The company acquired Staff Dynamics, a personnel agency, and Uptime, a manufacturer of card readers; it also served as an incubator for Informatics, an early software company. By 1970 the company had become the world's leading independent printer manufacturer. In 1980 Tomash retired and Graham Tyson, already chief operating officer and president, succeeded him as chairman.

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