Computers & Business Machines
Imagine the loss, 100 years from now, if museums hadn't begun preserving the artifacts of the computer age. The last few decades offer proof positive of why museums must collect continuously—to document technological and social transformations already underway.
The museum's collections contain mainframes, minicomputers, microcomputers, and handheld devices. Computers range from the pioneering ENIAC to microcomputers like the Altair and the Apple I. A Cray2 supercomputer is part of the collections, along with one of the towers of IBM's Deep Blue, the computer that defeated reigning champion Garry Kasparov in a chess match in 1997. Computer components and peripherals, games, software, manuals, and other documents are part of the collections. Some of the instruments of business include adding machines, calculators, typewriters, dictating machines, fax machines, cash registers, and photocopiers
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ENIAC Accumulator #2
- Description
- ENIAC was built by a team of engineers at the Moore School at the University of Pennsylvania between May 1943 and February, 1946. The team was working under contract for the Ballistics Research Laboratory of the U.S. Army Ordnance Department. The name ENIAC is an acronym of Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. Principal engineers on the project were J. Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly. When complete, ENIAC filled a room measuring 30 feet by 50 feet and weighed 30 tons. It used around 18,000 vacuum tubes of 16 types, 1500 relays, 70,000 resistors, and 10,000 capacitors. It was 8 feet high, 3 feet wide, almost 100 feet long (if stretched out), and consumed 140 kilowatts of power. Construction costs were around half a million dollars.
- The Army commissioned ENIAC to perform a specific function: computing ballistics tables for aiming Army artillery. Creating accurate tables was a laborious process of solving differential equations for hundreds of positions and configurations for each gun. When the ENIAC project was started, human "computers" (largely women) were performing the calculations by hand with mechanical calculators, and they were falling hopelessly behind schedule. If the operations could be done in a pre-programmed sequence by an electronic machine, not only would they be completed faster, but results should include fewer errors than hand calculation.
- By the time ENIAC was finished, the war was over, and the original goal was no longer a pressing matter. All along, however, the development team realized that what they were creating in ENIAC was much more than a special purpose calculating device.
- An Army press release announcing its creation in 1946 proclaimed boldly: "A new machine that is expected to revolutionize the mathematics of engineering and change many of our industrial design methods was announced today by the War Department . This machine is the first all-electronic general purpose computer ever developed. It is capable of solving many technical and scientific problems so complex and difficult that all previous methods of solution were considered impractical . Begun in 1943 at the request of the Ordnance Department to break a mathematical bottleneck in ballistic research, its peacetime uses extend to all branches of scientific and engineering work."
- The claim, voiced here, that ENIAC was the "first all-electronic general purpose computer " has been a source of controversy ever since. Much of the debate has centered on patent issues. To summarize a complicated story, Eckert and Mauchly belatedly filed a patent application based on ENIAC in June 1947. They finally received a patent in 1964. The claims in their patent were broad, and soon Sperry Rand, the company with which Eckert and Mauchly were working by this time, began seeking infringement fees. Sperry Rand settled privately with IBM, but another target, Honeywell, challenged the patent. After a detailed investigation and trial, Judge Earl Lawson invalidated the ENIAC patent in late 1972. In part he ruled that crucial elements of ENIAC derived from prior work by John V. Atanasoff, an inventor who had built a special-purpose electronic computer at Iowa State College in the late 1930's. Although Atanasoff machine never worked well and he ultimately dropped the project, John Mauchly had known and visited him, and arguably got some ideas from this connection.
- The ruling by Judge Lawson has been taken by some to be proof that Atanasoff was the "Father of the Computer" and that Eckert and Mauchly were of subsidiary importance.
- Most computer historians claim, however, as Mauchly himself did, that if he and Eckert got anything from Atanasoff's work, its significance was of limited importance to the success of the project. In large part, this is because the genius of ENIAC derived more from the brilliance of its engineering than its fundamental conceptual design.
- Like most important technologies, the electronic digital computer ultimately derived from many sources and the work of many people. Besides contributions made in the United States, important developments were also made in Europe before and during World War II. Many people in addition to those involved in the patent fight made important contributions to the evolution of the digital computer. These included pioneers such as George Stibitz at Bell Laboratories, Howard Aitken at Harvard University, Konrad Zuse in Germany, and others.
- ENIAC remains singularly important, however, because it marks a major transition. It stood at the beginning of the digital computer industry in the United States. No machine before ENIAC was as large or powerful. None had its technical sophistication. Before it, no companies were striving to create and sell electronic digital computers as a principal line of business. ENIAC proved that a general-purpose electronic computer was both possible and valuable. After the War, and largely because of ENIAC, the field of digital computers was open. ENIAC was a clear, public announcement that the digital electronic computer had arrived, and that the Federal Government was strongly supporting its development.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1947-02-12
- Associated Name
- University of Pennsylvania
- maker
- University of Pennsylvania
- ID Number
- CI.321732.01
- catalog number
- 321732.01
- accession number
- 242457
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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John Cooper Print Machine Patent Model
- Description
- John H. Cooper of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was awarded patent number 14,907 on May 20th, 1856 for this printing machine patent model. Cooper describes his patent as a combination of the type radially arranged with a presser bar for carrying the paper to the type to receive the impression. The carriage is rather small and would have carried a smaller piece of paper similar to ticker tape. The radially arranged type must be moved and selected one-by-one to be typed onto the paper, in a manner similar in action to an old rotary telephone.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1856
- patent date
- 1856-05-20
- maker
- Cooper, John H.
- ID Number
- ME.251211
- catalog number
- 251211
- patent number
- 14907
- accession number
- 48865
- patent number
- 14,907
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Reel of Magnetic Tape with COBOL Compiler
- Description
- Programs and data were entered into many early computers, including those made by Univac and RCA, using reels of magnetic tape like this one. This particular tape carried a compiler for the programming language COBOL. It was used in December 1960, when a COBOL program first ran successfully on computers made by two different manufacturers. Thus it stands as a symbol of the birth of one of the first common programming languages. Computer programmers would come to expect that different brands of computers ran the same languages. COBOL became a routine tool for business programming.
- The reel is marked: UNIVAC. It is also marked: COBOL. A piece of tape attached to the back reads: 12/6/60 UNIVAC COBOL COMPILER 2319 UC.
- date made
- 1960
- maker
- Remington Rand Univac
- ID Number
- CI.317980.01
- catalog number
- 317980.01
- accession number
- 317980
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Globe 127 FORTRAN Statement Punch Cards
- Description
- These two cream-colored eighty-column punch cards have a faint yellow stripe across the top of the front. They are marked in the middle: FORTRAN STATEMENT. They are marked along the bottom edge: GLOBE 127 STANDARD FORM. They also are marked: 888157.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1960s-1970s
- maker
- Globe Ticket Company
- ID Number
- 1996.0142.16
- catalog number
- 1996.0142.16
- accession number
- 1996.0142
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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ENIAC
- Date made
- 1947
- maker
- University of Pennsylvania
- ID Number
- COLL.ENIAC.000001
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Mainframe Computer Components, Female Socket Sets
- Description
- Each of these two identical wooden blocks has two large holes at each end and a 4 x 15 array of holes. The opposite side has four larger protrusions, two at each end, and a 4 x 15 array of metal connectors.
- The object is associated with Margaret Fox and may come from the SEAC computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2013.3034.11
- catalog number
- 2013.3034.11
- nonaccession number
- 2013.3034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Mainframe Computer Component, Connectors
- Description
- These four wooden rods are painted black. Each has one metal cover at one end and two metal pieces, separated by a short length of the rod, at the other. The rods are color-coded as follows:
- 1. long rod - brown and red stripes near end with one metal piece. Brown and two red strips near end with two metal pieces.
- 2. long rod - cream colored and black stripes near end with one metal piece. Yellow, black and brown stripes near end with two metal pieces.
- 3. shorter rod - red and orange stripes near end with one metal piece. Brown, black and lighter brown stripes near end with two metal pieces.
- 4. shorter rod - no color-coded stripes - exposed gold section near end with two pieces and near other end - this rod has a maker's mark.
- These objects are associated with Margaret Fox and may come from the SEAC computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2013.3034.13
- catalog number
- 2013.3034.13
- nonaccession number
- 2013.3034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Mainframe Computer Component, Connector
- Description
- A black wooden or plastic cylindrical rod. Near one end are two prongs. Near the other end is one prong.
- Compare to 2013.3034.13
- The object is associated with Margaret Fox and may come from the SEAC computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2013.3034.14
- catalog number
- 2013.3034.14
- nonaccession number
- 2013.3034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Dictet Magnetic Tape with Box
- Description
- A Dictet magnetic tape in metal cassette and cardboard box.
- The object is associated with Margaret Fox and may relate to the SEAC computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2013.3034.15
- catalog number
- 2013.3034.15
- nonaccession number
- 2013.3034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Mainframe Computer Component, Vacuum Tube Socket L6FT
- Description
- This socket has a plastic case and eight protruding metal pins.
- The object is associated with Margaret Fox and may come from the SEAC computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2013.3034.04
- catalog number
- 2013.3034.04
- nonaccession number
- 2013.3034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Mainframe Computer Component, Vacuum Tube Socket 250:25 P5
- Description
- This socket has a plastic case and eight protruding metal pins. The other end from the pins is open.
- The object is associated with Margaret Fox and may come from the SEAC computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2013.3034.05
- catalog number
- 2013.3034.05
- nonaccession number
- 2013.3034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Mainframe Computer Component, Vacuum Tube Socket Technitrol 180-1
- Description
- This small socket has nine protruding metal pins.
- The object is associated with Margaret Fox and may come from the SEAC computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2013.3034.06
- catalog number
- 2013.3034.06
- nonaccession number
- 2013.3034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Mainframe Computer Component, Vacuum Tube Support with Grounding Legs
- Description
- This small device has holes for nine pins at one end. A metal ring around this end has six metal connecting pieces. There are three metal connectors below this and six further ones toward the other end. A further small metal piece is attached at the other end.
- The object is associated with Margaret Fox and may come from the SEAC computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2013.3034.07
- catalog number
- 2013.3034.07
- nonaccession number
- 2013.3034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Mainframe Computer Component, Capacitor Bank Delay Line
- Description
- This metal frame contains a cylindrical metal rod with nineteen red and orange tiles soldered to it. The tiles each have an array of six colored circles on them.
- The object is associated with Margaret Fox. May come from the SEAC computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1955
- ID Number
- 2013.3034.08
- catalog number
- 2013.3034.08
- nonaccession number
- 2013.3034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Mainframe Computer Component, Delay Lines
- Description
- Each of these three objects has a plastic core, wound with several coils of copper wire. One end of each object has a gray wire coming out and the other end one brown wire and one gray wire. Dimensions depend on the position of wires. They are given for one delay line.
- The object is associated with Margaret Fox and may come from the SEAC computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2013.3034.09
- catalog number
- 2013.3034.09
- nonaccession number
- 2013.3034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Mainframe Computer Components, Delay Lines
- Description
- The shortest of these three cylinders is brown, has one black wire protruding from one end, and has one black wire and one black and white wire at the other end. A paper tag is labeled #6.
- The second cylinder is brown and has one wire protruding near one end and two protruding near the other.
- The third cylinder is black and has two wires protruding from each end. A paper tag is attached, labeled HH1600 and 0.23 [micro]sec.
- The object is associated with Margaret Fox and may come from the SEAC computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2013.3034.10
- catalog number
- 2013.3034.10
- nonaccession number
- 2013.3034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Mainframe Computer Component, Male Connector
- Description
- On this brown plastic rectangular block, the top has a two rows of fifteen metal pins. One side has two rows of fifteen shorter pins.
- The object is associated with Margaret Fox and may come from the SEAC computer.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 2013.3034.12
- catalog number
- 2013.3034.12
- nonaccession number
- 2013.3034
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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