Don Kaye, Date of Birth, Date of Death

Don Kaye

American game designer

Date of Birth: 27-Jun-1938

Date of Death: 31-Jan-1975

Profession: publisher, game designer, role-playing game designer

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Donald R.
Kaye (June 27, 1938 – January 31, 1975) was the co-founder of Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), the game publishing company most famous for their Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) role-playing game.
He and TSR co-founder Gary Gygax had been friends since childhood, sharing an interest in miniature war games.
In 1972, Kaye created Murlynd, one of the first D&D characters, and play-tested him in Gygax's Castle Greyhawk campaign.
Kaye and Gygax were convinced that D&D and similar games were an excellent business opportunity, and together they founded Tactical Studies Rules in 1973.
However, only two years later, just as sales of D&D started to rise, Kaye unexpectedly died of a heart attack at age 36.