# Brodie Lockard

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**William Brodie Lockard** is an American computer programmer who wrote the first computerized version of [Mahjong solitaire](/source/Mahjong_solitaire) on the [PLATO system](/source/PLATO_(computer_system)).[1]

## Early life and education

His parents were Kirby and Dorothy Lockard (née Judge).[2] Brodie grew up in [Tucson, Arizona](/source/Tucson,_Arizona) and attended [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University), initially majoring in English.[1] He took courses in [mathematics](/source/Mathematics) and [computer science](/source/Computer_science) as he realised they might improve his luck in the job market.[1] He befriended Jeffrey Chung, a pre-med student, who told him about the PLATO system, which he had seen in Hawaii.[1] However, the system was not available in Stanford.[1]

His father was a professor at the [University of Arizona](/source/University_of_Arizona), which had access to the PLATO system and Professor Lockard wanted to use the system in his classes.[1] Brodie worked for him, creating a tutorial.[1] When he returned to Stanford, he made enquiries about renting a terminal, but discovered they were prohibitively expensive.[1]

### Accident

In December 1979 he suffered an accident while dismounting from a trampoline.[1][3] He awoke in hospital, on a breathing apparatus, with his limbs paralyzed.[1] He learned how to type with a mouth-stick and after his father reached out to [CDC](/source/Control_Data_Corporation), Cindy Poulson of CDC visited Brodie, bringing her personal PLATO terminal for him to use.[1]

### Mahjong Solitaire

During his rehabilitation, Brodie was introduced to a tile-based board game, which was [Mahjong solitaire](/source/Mahjong_solitaire), and implemented it on PLATO.[1]

Brodie moved to Hawaii in 2000.[2]

## References

1. Dear, Brian (19 November 2017). ["How a little-known computer network system changed the history of the internet"](https://www.salon.com/2017/11/19/how-a-little-known-computer-network-system-changed-the-history-of-the-internet/). *[Salon](/source/Salon_(website))*. Retrieved 14 August 2019.

1. ["Dorothy Lockard 1928-2016"](https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?pid=181471445). [San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle)

1. Stone, Allison (24 January 1980). ["Brodie Lockard at Valley Med - Gymnast remains paralyzed after December accident"](https://stanforddailyarchive.com/cgi-bin/stanford?a=d&d=stanford19800124-01.2.13#). [The Stanford Daily](/source/The_Stanford_Daily). Retrieved 14 August 2019.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Brodie Lockard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brodie_Lockard) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brodie_Lockard?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.