August 12 Birthday
On August 12, 1981, IBM released the Personal Computer, Model 5150. It cost $1,565 and ran at 4.77 MHz. It used an Intel 8088 processor and came with 16KB of memory. What made it revolutionary was not the technology but the business model: IBM used off-the-shelf components and published the specifications, allowing other companies to build compatible machines. The "IBM PC compatible" standard dominated computing for thirty years. Microsoft, which provided the operating system (MS-DOS), became the most valuable company in the world. IBM sold its PC business to Lenovo in 2005. Sue the T. Rex was discovered on August 12, 1990, by Sue Hendrickson near Faith, South Dakota. The skeleton was 80% complete — the most complete T. Rex ever found. It was 40 feet long and 13 feet tall at the hip. The fossil became the subject of a legal battle over ownership of the land. The FBI seized it in 1992. It was eventually auctioned and purchased by the Field Museum in Chicago for $8.36 million — the highest price ever paid for a fossil. People born on August 12 fall under the zodiac sign of Leo. The birthstone is Peridot and the birth flower is Gladiolus. Historical events on August 12 include 1981: IBM Personal Computer (Model 5150) released, 1851: Isaac Singer patents his sewing machine design, 1990: Sue, most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, discovered in South Dakota. Famous people born on August 12 include George Soros (1930), William Goldman (1931), Pete Sampras (1971).