In late 1957 and early 1958, eight researchers known as the 'traitorous eight' resigned from Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory after Shockley decided not to continue research into silicon-based semiconductors. They went on to form Fairchild Semiconductor, a major company in the industry. This event had a long-lasting impact on the development of Silicon Valley.

William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain were jointly awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for their research on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect. This marked a pinnacle of their scientific achievements and a recognition of the transistor's revolutionary impact on electronics and technology.

Shockley announced the invention of the bipolar 'junction transistor' at a press conference. This invention was a significant advancement over the point-contact transistor developed by Bardeen and Brattain, and it had a major impact on the development of electronics.

Shockley obtained a first proof of principle for his 'sandwich' transistor, a new type of transistor with a layer structure. This significantly more robust structure was the basis for most transistors into the 1960s, and evolved into the bipolar junction transistor.

John N. Shive, a member of Shockley's team at Bell Labs, built a point-contact transistor with bronze contacts on both sides of a thin germanium wedge. This demonstrated that holes could diffuse through the bulk of the germanium, not just along the surface, as previously believed. Shive's experiment ignited Shockley's invention of the junction transistor.

Secretary of War Robert Patterson awarded Shockley the Medal for Merit for his work in organizing a training program for B-29 bomber pilots to use new radar bomb sights during World War II. This award recognized Shockley's contributions to the war effort, specifically in improving the effectiveness of radar-assisted bombing.