by Ken North
Copyright ©1999, Ken North, All Rights Reserved
Success in a plane -- how Computer Sciences Corporation became a major software
company
Fletcher Jones and Roy Nutt founded Computer Sciences Corporation in 1959 and much of
CSC's early success was built on developing systems software such as compilers. In the
late 1950s, there were only a handful of computer manufacturers and they bundled
applications, operating systems, and hardware. Aside from government contracts, there
wasn't a large market for software developed by independent software companies.
One of CSC's first contracts came about because Fletcher Jones learned Sperry-Rand
(Univac) was developing a new generation of computers, which meant it would need an
operating system and compilers. Jones arranged to be booked on a long airline flight in
the seat next to the CEO of Sperry. After a few hours of discussion, CSC had a contract to
write system software for Univac computers. CSC eventually wrote COBOL compilers and
several operating systems.
CSC Goes Public and Tries to Buy Western Union
In 1969, after the meteoric rise of CSC stock, Fletcher Jones announced that computers
and telecommunications would merge so he made an offer for Western Union. Western Union
was an old company that was many times the size of upstart CSC. The merger attempt failed
but Jones' vision proved to be correct.
Disaster in a plane -- the Fletcher Jones saga continues
When Computer Sciences Corporation became a publicly-traded company, co-founder
Fletcher Jones became a wealthy man. He acquired a ranch in Santa Barbara County, CA and
bought an airplane. He was not yet qualified to fly a multi-engined aircraft, and he
crashed in 1969 when commuting from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. This happened during a
period when CSC had invested millions to develop its Infonet timesharing network. Infonet
did not turn a profit for several years. CSC stock had been trading near $40 per share
before the crash. By 1972, it was trading for less than $2 a share.
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