William von Meister | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, U.S. | February 21, 1942
Died | May 18, 1995 Great Falls, Virginia, U.S. | (aged 53)
Issue | Frederick von Meister |
Father | F.W. von Meister |
Mother | Eleanora Colloredo-Mannsfeld |
William F. von Meister (February 21, 1942 – May 18, 1995) was an American entrepreneur who founded and participated in a number of startup ventures in the Washington, D.C., area. These included The Source, an early online service and CompuServe competitor, and Control Video Corporation, a predecessor to AOL. [1]
William Ferdinand von Meister was born of noble German descent [2] on February 21, 1942 in New York City, to F. W. von Meister and Eleanora Colloredo-Mannsfeld. [3] His father, F. W. von Meister, was the godson of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and his mother was a countess. [4]
Von Meister attended high school at Middlesex Academy in Massachusetts, and a finishing school in Switzerland. He then attended Georgetown University. Though he never completed his undergraduate education, he persuaded nearby American University to enroll him in its master's program for business. [4] [5]
After leaving Georgetown in 1973, von Meister started a wholesale liquor company, but found it "boring" and decided to move into consulting. [6] After creating a database for Litton Bionetics, he was hired by Western Union to create a computerized billing system. [6]
In 1978, von Meister founded The Source, [7] the first popular online services company. The Source was eventually sold to Reader's Digest and later acquired by rivals CompuServe. [8] [7]
In 1983, Control Video Corporation, the predecessor of America Online, was founded by von Meister. The company originally ran the GameLine dial-up service for the Atari 2600, [7] which Meister claimed to be able to handle up to 100,000 users. [9]
Meister has at least one brother, Peter. [4] Von Meister died of cancer in Great Falls, Virginia, at the age of 53, [8] leaving behind his son, Frederick William von Meister.
As a descendent of Prussian nobility, William had the honour of carrying von in his last name. [2]
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cite web}}
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William von Meister | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, U.S. | February 21, 1942
Died | May 18, 1995 Great Falls, Virginia, U.S. | (aged 53)
Issue | Frederick von Meister |
Father | F.W. von Meister |
Mother | Eleanora Colloredo-Mannsfeld |
William F. von Meister (February 21, 1942 – May 18, 1995) was an American entrepreneur who founded and participated in a number of startup ventures in the Washington, D.C., area. These included The Source, an early online service and CompuServe competitor, and Control Video Corporation, a predecessor to AOL. [1]
William Ferdinand von Meister was born of noble German descent [2] on February 21, 1942 in New York City, to F. W. von Meister and Eleanora Colloredo-Mannsfeld. [3] His father, F. W. von Meister, was the godson of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and his mother was a countess. [4]
Von Meister attended high school at Middlesex Academy in Massachusetts, and a finishing school in Switzerland. He then attended Georgetown University. Though he never completed his undergraduate education, he persuaded nearby American University to enroll him in its master's program for business. [4] [5]
After leaving Georgetown in 1973, von Meister started a wholesale liquor company, but found it "boring" and decided to move into consulting. [6] After creating a database for Litton Bionetics, he was hired by Western Union to create a computerized billing system. [6]
In 1978, von Meister founded The Source, [7] the first popular online services company. The Source was eventually sold to Reader's Digest and later acquired by rivals CompuServe. [8] [7]
In 1983, Control Video Corporation, the predecessor of America Online, was founded by von Meister. The company originally ran the GameLine dial-up service for the Atari 2600, [7] which Meister claimed to be able to handle up to 100,000 users. [9]
Meister has at least one brother, Peter. [4] Von Meister died of cancer in Great Falls, Virginia, at the age of 53, [8] leaving behind his son, Frederick William von Meister.
As a descendent of Prussian nobility, William had the honour of carrying von in his last name. [2]
{{
cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)