Today is a special day, as it marks PathGuide Technologies founder David Allais’s 92nd birthday! David remains a familiar face around the PathGuide headquarters in Bothell, Wash. where he continues to serve as chairman of our company.

David has earned a reputation as an internationally recognized industry expert and innovator in the fields of barcoding and automatic identification. He holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He invented five barcode symbologies, including CODE 39, the first alphanumeric barcode symbology, which is standardized and used widely today.

David founded PathGuide Technologies in 1989. The company initially provided clients with consulting services, systems design and integration, and custom software installations before specializing in warehouse management software.

“Creating a company has been very satisfying,” David wrote in a memoir for nonprofit group AIDC 100 in 2006. “This is particularly so when customers derive major gains in productivity and can provide better service to their own customers.”

David has since accumulated countless industry accolades throughout his career. He became a member of GS1’s Barcode and Identification Technology Group, an industry standards group that was originally known as the Symbol Technical Advisory Committee. In 1988, David was awarded the Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility (AIM) Richard R. Dilling Award as a preeminent contributor to barcode technology. In 2009, David received the University of Arizona College of Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award (his alma mater). Last year, Supply & Demand Chain Executive recognized David with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his more than 50 years of pioneering work within the AIDC field and contributions to the supply chain space.

Additionally, David’s philanthropic ventures include board positions with two local nonprofits. He is treasurer for the Seattle Shakespeare Company, which stages productions of Shakespeare’s plays across the Puget Sound region. He is also treasurer for the Steamer Virginia V Foundation, which promotes the Puget Sound’s maritime heritage through the maintenance of the National Historic Landmark steamship, the S.S. Virginia V, which is docked in Seattle’s South Lake Union.

His accomplishments are certainly many, and we’re very proud of the efforts David has poured into creating our company and overseeing its success. Please join us in celebrating David and wishing him a very happy 92nd birthday!

In Pop Culture:

David shares a birth year with many celebrities, including former basketball coach and broadcaster Hubie Brown (who recently retired on February 9), actress and comedian Carol Burnett, actor Sir Michael Caine, singer and songwriter Willie Nelson, actress Kim Novak, singer and artist Yoko Ono, and actor Tom Skerritt (a fellow Pacific Northwest resident).

Additionally, some notable events that occurred that same year:

The original “King Kong” film, which was the first feature film to use stop-motion animation models, debuted on March 2.
The board game “Monopoly” was developed in the United States on March 7.
The first drive-in movie theater opened on June 6 in Pennsauken Township, near Camden, New Jersey.
Joseph Schenck and Darryl F. Zanuck established Twentieth Century Pictures as a motion picture production company on June 26 in Hollywood.
The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 6 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
Wiley Post became the first person to fly solo around the world, landing at Floyd Bennett Field on July 22 in Brooklyn, New York, after traveling eastbound 15,596 miles in 7 days 18 hours 45 minutes.
The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on December 5, repealing Prohibition in the United States and making the production and sale of alcohol legal in the U.S.
The first NFL Championship game in American football was played, with the Chicago Bears defeating the New York Giants 23–21.
The Nissan Motor Company was organized on December 26 in Tokyo, Japan. FM radio was also patented on this same day.