The Sperry Corporation's Univac Division derived from the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, founded in 1946 by J. Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly, the developers of ENIAC, the first electronic digital computer. The firm began the development of the UNIVAC, the first stored memory digital computer for commercial applications. Capital shortages forced Eckert and Mauchly to sell the firm to Remington Rand, Inc., a major manufacturer of business machines, in 1950. The first UNIVAC was delivered in March 1951. To cement its lead in computer manufacture, Remington Rand purchased the Minnesota firm of Engineering Research Associates, a computer company with ties to the defense industry, in 1952. The two acquisitions were consolidated to form the Univac Division.
Remington Rand merged with the Sperry Corporation on June 30, 1955, to form the Sperry Rand Corporation. A separate Sales and Marketing Dept. was formed in 1957, as the company attempted to consolidate these functions after the 1955 sale. Sperry Rand was renamed the Sperry Corporation in July 1979, and in 1986 it was acquired by the Burroughs Corporation in a hostile takeover. The merged company was named Unisys Corporation.
From the description of Records, 1957-1965. (Hagley Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 86119488
