William von Meister
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 von Meister
February 21, 1942
New York City, United States
May 18, 1995 (aged 53)
Great Falls, Virginia, United States
Frederick von Meister
F.W. von Meister
Eleanora Colloredo-Mannsfeld
Early years[edit]
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]
William 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]
Career[edit]
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, 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 was founded by 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]
Personal life and death[edit]
Meister has at least one brother, Peter.[4] Bill von Meister died of cancer in Great Falls, Virginia, at the age of 53,[8] leaving behind his son, Frederick William von Meister.
Titles[edit]
As a descendent of Prussian nobility, William had the honour of carrying von in his last name.[2]