Randy Suess

Randy John Suess (January 27, 1945 – December 10, 2019) was the co-founder of the CBBS bulletin board, the first bulletin board system (BBS) ever brought online. Suess, along with collaborator Ward Christensen, whom he met when they were both members of the Chicago Area Computer Hobbyists’ Exchange, or CACHE, started development of CBBS during a blizzard in Chicago, Illinois, and officially established it four weeks later, on February 16, 1978.

Biography Suess was born in Skokie, Illinois, to Miland, a police officer, and Ruth (née Duppenthaler), a nurse. He served in the Navy, and afterward, attended the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle. Suess worked at IBM and Zenith.

In the 1970s, Suess was also an amateur radio operator, using the call sign WB9GPM. He was an active member of the Chicago FM Club, where he helped with maintenance on their extensive radio repeater systems.

In 1992, Suess and Christensen received a Dvorak Telecommunications Excellence Award for their development of the first BBS.

In May 2005, Suess and Christensen were both featured in BBS: The Documentary.

Suess died on December 10, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois.