Walter Day Lifetime Achievement Award 2022

The International Video Game Hall of Fame inducted Jerry Lawson for the Class of 2022, "Walter Day Lifetime Achievement Award".

• American electronic engineer, known for his work in designing the Fairchild Channel F video game console.
• He was thus dubbed the "father of the videogame cartridge“.
• In 1970, created an early coin-operated arcade game called Demolition Derby in his garage.
• Responsible for designing the 8-way joystick and a "pause" button, which was a first for a home video game console.
• In 1980, Lawson left Fairchild and founded Videosoft, a video game development company that made software for the Atari 2600.
• In March 2011, Lawson was honored as an industry pioneer for his work on the game cartridge concept

Lawson was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on December 1, 1940. His father, Blanton, was a longshoreman with an interest in science, while his mother, Mannings, worked for the city, and also served on the Parents-Teachers Association for the local school. His grandfather had studied to become a physicist but was unable to achieve a career in physics, instead working as a postmaster. His parents ensured he received a good education and encouraged his interests in scientific hobbies, including ham radio and chemistry. In addition, Lawson said that his first-grade teacher encouraged him on his path to be someone influential, similar to George Washington Carver. He lived in Queens as a teenager, and he earned money by repairing television sets. At the age of 13, he gained an amateur ham radio license and then built his own station at home with parts from local electronic stores bought with his money. He attended both Queens College and City College of New York, but did not complete a degree at either. (*Wikipedia)

Accepting the award is his son Anderson