William Gibson

William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction novelist and essayist who has been called the "noir prophet" of the cyberpunk subgenre. Gibson coined the term "cyberspace" in his short story "Burning Chrome" (1982) and later popularized the concept in his debut novel, Neuromancer (1984). In envisioning cyberspace, Gibson created an iconography for the information age before the ubiquity of the Internet in the 1990s. He is also credited with predicting the rise of reality television and with establishing the conceptual foundations for the rapid growth of virtual environments such as video games and the World Wide Web.

Having changed residence frequently with his family as a child, Gibson became a shy, ungainly teenager who often read science fiction. After spending his adolescence at a private boarding school in Arizona, Gibson evaded the draft during the Vietnam War by emigrating to Canada in 1968, where he became immersed in the counterculture. After settling in Vancouver he eventually became a full-time writer. He retains dual citizenship. Gibson's early works are bleak, noir near-future stories about the effect of cybernetics and computer networks on humans—a "combination of lowlife and high tech". The short stories were published in popular science fiction magazines. The themes, settings and characters developed in these stories culminated in his first novel, Neuromancer, which garnered critical and commercial success, effectively initiating the cyberpunk literary genre.

William Gibson (disambiguation)

William Gibson (born 1948) is an American-Canadian science fiction author.

William Gibson may also refer to:

Association football

Politicians

William Gibson (NAACP)

Dr. William Gibson (1933–2002) was an African American dentist who served as chair of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1985 to 1995.

Gibson was a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University and Meharry Medical College. He served as president of the NAACP's regional branch in Greenville, South Carolina before succeeding Margaret Bush Wilson as national chairperson. As chair, he encouraged voter registration and worked to increase economic opportunities for African Americans. However, his handling of finances was controversial, and the NAACP found itself with a $4 million deficit in 1995. That year, NAACP board members voted 30-29 to replace Gibson with Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of Medgar Evers.

Gibson died of cancer at the age of 69.

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William Gibson (Ulster Unionist Party politician)

William Gibson (born 1859 or 1860) was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.

Gibson studied at the Royal University of Ireland before becoming a general practitioner. He was elected to local posts in Belfast; for example, becoming a Poor Law Guardian for Ballymacarrett in 1895. He was the first commander of the 3rd East Belfast Regiment of the Ulster Volunteers, and in the early 1910s served as Honorary Secretary of the Ulster Unionist Council.

Following the death of George Clark in 1935, Gibson was selected as the Ulster Unionist Party candidate for the Senate of Northern Ireland, and he defeated Robert Dorman, his Northern Ireland Labour Party opponent, by 35 votes to 5. He was appointed as a Deputy Speaker in 1941, but resigned from the Senate the following year.

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William Gibson (bishop)

William Gibson (1738–1821) was an English Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District from 1790 to 1821.

Born in Stonecroft, near Hexham, Northumberland on 2 February 1738, the son of Jasper Gibson and Margaret Gibson (née Leadbitter). He was ordained to the priesthood in 1764. Following the death of his older brother Matthew on 17 May 1790, William was appointed the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District and Titular Bishop of Achantus on 10 September 1790. He was consecrated to the Episcopate at Lulworth Castle by Bishop Charles Walmesley on 5 December 1790.

He died in office on 2 June 1821, aged 83, and was buried at Ushaw College which he himself had founded in 1804.

References

William Gibson (priest)

William Gibson DD (1717 - 1754) was a Canon of Windsor from 1746 to 1754 and Archdeacon of Essex from 1747 to 1752.

Family

He was born in 1717, the son of Bishop Edmund Gibson of London.

Career

He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford and graduated BA in 1737, MA in 1740, BD and DD in 1751.

He was appointed:

He was appointed to the eighth stall in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in 1746 and held the canonry until 1754.

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