Records relating to the presentation of the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator to Harvard University
Overview
The Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (Mark I) was developed by Harvard University Professor Howard D. Aiken (1900-1973) in collaboration with engineers from the International Business Machines Corporation beginning in 1937. This collection contains a typewritten stenographer's transcript and seven phonograph records (12 inch, 78 rpm long-playing (LP) format) documenting the presentation of the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator to Harvard University on August 7, 1944.
Dates
- Creation: 1944 August 7
Creator
- Harvard University (Organization)
Researcher Access
Open for research with the following exceptions: the original phonograph records are not available due to fragility.
Extent
.73 cubic feet (1 pamphlet binder, 1 phonograph record container)This collection contains a typewritten stenographer's transcript and seven phonograph records (12 inch, 78 rpm long-playing (LP) format) documenting the presentation of the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator to Harvard University on August 7, 1944. The transcript and phonograph records include the remarks given at the presentation by Harvard President James B. Conant, Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics and Civil Engineering Howard D. Aiken, International Business Machines Corporation President Thomas J. Watson, and Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Engineering, Harold M. Westergaard.
Historical note
The Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (Mark I) was developed by Harvard University Professor Howard D. Aiken (1900-1973) in collaboration with engineers from the International Business Machines Corporation beginning in 1937. The first “computer,” the Calculator or Mark I was presented to Harvard University on August 7, 1944 by International Business Machines Corporation President Thomas J. Watson at a ceremony attended by Harvard President James B. Conant, university officials, naval officers, and International Business Machines executives. The Calculator was designed for use by the United States Navy and the Army’s Bureau of Ordinance to help compute ballistic tables. It also made classified calculations for the Manhattan Project. After World War II, the Calculator was used in such fields as astronomy, atomic physics, optics, and electronics.
Acquisition information
The documents in this collection are University records and were acquired in the course of University business. Whenever possible the archivist noted the terms of acquisition in the folder description.
Acquistions
- 1960 August, James R. Reynolds
- 1944 October 17, Dean Baker
References
- Bethell, John T. Harvard Observed: An Illustrated History of the University in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1998.
- Keller, Morton and Phyllis Keller. Making Harvard Modern: The Rise of America's University. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Inventory update
This document last updated 2019 January 8.
General note
People
- Aiken, Howard H. (Howard Hathaway), 1900-1973.
- Conant, James Bryant, 1893-1978.
- Watson, Thomas J., 1914-1993.
- Westergaard, Harold Malcolm, 1888-1950.
General note
Groups
- Harvard University.
- International Business Machines Corporation.
- Harvard University -- Presidents.
- Harvard University -- History -- 20th century.
- Harvard University -- Gifts.
- Harvard University -- Relations with industry.
General note
Topics
- Mark I (Calculator)
- Calculators -- Research.
- Computers -- History.
General note
Formats and genres
- Phonograph records.
- Transcripts.
Processing Information
This inventory was created in May 2014 by Dominic P. Grandinetti from a cursory inspection of the material and a variety of information sources. In some cases, titles were devised by the archivist. The records (UAI 20.944.5 and UAI 20.944.10) were re-processed as the Records relating to the presentation of the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator to Harvard University, 1944 August 7 and assigned the call number UAI 20.944.5. Call number UAI 20.944.10 (Speeches at the presentation of the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, 1944 August 7) was eliminated.
Creator
- Harvard University (Organization)
- Title
- Harvard University. Records relating to the presentation of the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator to Harvard University, 1944 August 7 : an inventory
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua34014
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu