Alan L. Haberman did not create the bar code, but he is considered by many to be the man who brought the technology to the marketplace. He sadly passed away this week at the age of 81.
Haberman was in charge of the selection committee when the grocery industry chose the barcode for its new standard in 1973. He reportedly embraced the barcode and did everything he could to convince both the industry and the public to adopt this new way of making a purchase.
All his work paid off and the first bar code sale took place in 1974 at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. The rest, as we say, is history. [New York Times and IDHistory]