Walter Aldro Day Jr. (born May 14, 1949) is an American businessman and the founder of

Twin Galaxies Twin Galaxies is a social media platform and video game database. Twin Galaxies is the official supplier of video game records to ''Guinness World Records''. History In mid-1981, Walter Day, founder of Twin Galaxies, Inc., visited more than 1 ...

, an organization that tracks world records for

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions.

Biography

Walter Aldro Day Jr. was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, on May 14, 1949. After moving to the town of

Fairfield, Iowa Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. It has a population of 9,416 people, according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The median family income is $46,138, with 10% of families belo ...

, Day sold commemorative newspapers for a living. In 1980, Day went to

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

to become an oil futures trader. He soon moved back to Fairfield and became a landlord, purchasing the Twin Galaxies arcade in

Ottumwa, Iowa Ottumwa ( ) is a List of cities in Iowa, city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, th ...

in 1981. That same year, he appeared on the cover of ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' in an edition featuring video games, and he established an online platform to establish rules and compile records for competitive video game playing. Twin Galaxies soon became known as the trusted database for high score records. Beginning in 1983,

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

recognized video games as a new category. Twin Galaxies became the official supplier of verified scores. Day was designated as an assistant editor in charge of video game scores for the 1984 to 1986 editions. At the opening of the 2017 Hugo Awards ceremony, Day presented a Guinness Record recognizing the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

as the longest-running science fiction award. Day has appeared in documentary films including ''

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

'' (2002), ''Coin-Op TV'' (2007), '' Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade'' (2007), '' The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters'' (2007), ''Frag'' (2008), ''The Video Craze'' (2013), ''Gamer Age'' (2014), '' The King of Arcades'' (2014), '' Nintendo Quest'' (2015), and '' Man vs Snake'' (2015). Day left Twin Galaxies in May 2010 to pursue a career in music.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Walter 1949 births Living people Esports businesspeople American referees and umpires Writers from Oakland, California Writers from Houston Writers from Salem, Massachusetts People from Fairfield, Iowa Salem State University alumni