Database king dies in front of PC

DONALD WILSON, who developed the Lexis Nexis commercial database service and introduced the idea of electronic research to law firms and news outfits has died in front of his computer at his home in Mitchellville. He was 82.

Wilson was the first president of Mead Data Central, which developed Lexis Nexis, a database of information for law firms, businesses, libraries and media. At the time of his death he was working out how to improve text-to-voice technology.

According to the Washington Post, while others were getting all excited about technology, Wilson was interested in finding out ways to make it actually useful.

He developed a plan to push one of his engineer's ideas of how to better search text for certain words or phrases. That become Lexis Nexis which is now the world's largest online electronic library of legal opinions, public records, news and business information.

When lawyers refused to touch the system, Wilson pushed the database by giving law students free access until the database became part of US legal life.

Wilson launched several companies and helped build the Academic American Encyclopedia, the Oxford Analytica, which uses academic experts to analyze world problems and Toxicheck, which provides real estate buyers information on the property's pollution.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Louise "Peter" Swan Baron Wilson and three kids.

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