The Origin of the CIO

ComputerWorld posted a fun column on the origins of some of the more common technology words, including blog, wiki, byte and router.

One entry is for chief information officer. Its origin, however, seems hard to believe. ComputerWorld reports:

According to the Computer History Museum, the C-level position for IT is believed to have started in military and government, then becoming adopted by industry. William Synnott and William Gruber get credit for coining the term in 1981.

What's odd is that Congress established the CIO position in government when it passed the 1996 Information Technology Management Reform Act, later renamed the Clinger-Cohen Act after its authors two biggest supporters, Rep. William Clinger and Sen. William Cohen. It's also unusual that government would lead the commercial sector in appointing CIOs. And whatever happened to the position until 1996?