George J. Laurer

George Joseph Laurer (September 23, 1925 – December 5, 2019) was an American engineer. He developed the Universal Product Code, commonly known as the barcode, in 1973. As an engineer at IBM, he was asked to develop the pattern used for the Universal Product Code. 
Laurer died at his home in Wendell, North Carolina on December 5, 2019 at the age of 94.