The quiet man who wrote history.

At dinner parties, Ric was the one asking the questions. His longtime partner, Mike Schaefer, remembered how rarely he talked about himself. In one photograph preserved at Stanford, Ric poses in a handmade unicorn costume. The university’s collection also includes his diaries dated 1974 to 1989. Pride Foundation · Stanford Libraries

In 1976, Ric and Bill Gates completed a version of BASIC for the 6502 processor. It became the foundation for BASIC on the Commodore PET, VIC-20, and Commodore 64, computers that brought programming into people’s homes. Microsoft’s account of 6502 BASIC

After leaving Microsoft in 1988, Ric devoted himself to philanthropy. In 1998 he created a scholarship for LGBTQ+ and allied students in visual arts and design. He named it for Ric Ulrich and Chuck Pischke, two Seattle creatives who died of AIDS. He also helped persuade General Electric to add sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination policy. The scholarship’s story · amfAR’s remembrance

Ric chose 11 organizations to receive $65.5 million from his estate. The bequest gave groups including Pride Foundation, Lambda Legal, GLAAD, and amfAR the financial stability to keep working for LGBTQ+ rights, representation, and HIV research. For amfAR, his gift helped sustain the search for an HIV cure through the 2008 recession. Ric’s bequest