Robert M Miner

Robert M. Miner, a co-founder of the Oracle Corporation, a leading supplier of database software, died November 1994 at his home in San Francisco. He was 52. Mr. Miner discovered last year that he had cancer and resigned from Oracle's board that October, said Sue Hirano, a spokeswoman for the company, based here in Redwood Shores, a San Francisco suburb. But, she said, he continued to work on some Oracle projects. From the company's founding in 1977 until 1992, Mr. Miner led product design and development, helping to create the world's first commercial relational database management system. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Mr. Miner worked for the Applied Data Research Corporation and other companies before joining Larry Ellison, Ed Oates and Bruce Scott in 1977 to found Software Development Labs, which became Oracle. Robert purchased Oakville Ranch Vineyards in 1989. Upon his death from Mesothelioma the ranch was managed by his nephew Dave Miner. Later Dave Miner went on to found his own wine label under the name Miner Family Vineyards. Mr. Miner is survived by his wife, Mary, and three children, Nicola, Justine and Luke.