out of Harvard. Later, Gates and Allen left Robert’s company to form their own, a company called Microsoft.

In 1977, Roberts sold his company for six million dollars. He changed careers and went off to medical school. Roberts became a country doctor in Cochran, Georgia. Roberts, however, is still remembered as the inventor of one of the very first hobbyist personal computers.

Most Oklahoma know of flyer Wiley Post who died in a plane crash in Alaska with Will Rogers. They do not know that Post had a hand inventing the modern day flight suit and the autopilot.

Most Oklahomans are unaware that another native son, Gordon Matthews, invented voice mail and got it patented on February 1, 1983. Born in Tulsa, Matthews later moved to Texas where he earned the title “The Father of Voice

Mail.”

Matthews has at least forty other patents including a device called “Automatic Marshal.” It tracks how long each player plays on the golf course and sets off an alarm when they dawdle.

The story of another Oklahoma invention began in 1902 when Carl Frederick Malzahn, a German immigrant, moved from Minnesota to Perry, Oklahoma Territory, and opened a blacksmith shop. His two sons, Charlie and Gus, soon joined their father in business. In time, Charlie was running the business.

When the oil boom occurred, the business became a machine shop to serve the oil industry. Following World War II, Charlie’s son, Ed Malzahn with a mechanical engineering degree, realized there was a need for a piece of equipment to dig ditches for gas, electric and plumbing lines. Until then picks and shovels had been used. He invented a compact trencher that today is known as the Ditch Witch.

Today the Perry company designs and manufacturers a wide range of high-quality underground construction equipment.

These and countless other inventions have strong ties to Oklahoma as do their inventors. They add much to the rich history of the state’s first 100 years.