Ken Thompson is an American computer scientist best known for his work in developing the Unix operating system. He co-created Unix in the late 1960s while working at Bell Labs, which revolutionized computing by introducing a multi-user environment and a hierarchical file system. His contributions laid the groundwork for many modern operating systems. In addition to Unix, Thompson also played a significant role in the development of the B programming language, which influenced many subsequent languages, including C. Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards, including the Turing Award, recognizing his significant impact on computer science and software development.