Oral history interview with Carl Chambers, 1977 Nov. 30.

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Oral history interview with Carl Chambers, 1977 Nov. 30.

Chambers discusses the initiation and progress of the ENIAC project at the Moore School. He recalls the conditions under which John Mauchly, one of the ENIAC designer's, came to the Moore School in 1941, Mauchly's 1943 proposal to the Army for a computer project, the National Defense Research Committee's initial denial of funds because of its commitment to analog computing, and the start of the project six months later. Chambers describes the interactions among the ENIAC staff, and focuses on the personalities and working relationships of Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert. He recounts their conflicts with project director John Grist Brainerd, and the commercial interests they first envisioned in 1944.

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SNAC Resource ID: 7884776

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

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Stern, Nancy B.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6t72nh1 (person)

Brainerd, John G. (John Grist), 1904-1988

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tf200h (person)

There are two epochs in the history of computing: before the completion of the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (known as the ENIAC), and after. While there are several controversies about the development of the ENIAC and its immediate successors, there is nearly universal agreement on three points: the ENIAC was the watershed project which convinced the world that electronic computing was not merely possible, but practicable; it was a masterpiece of electrical engineeri...

Chambers, Carl D.

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Professor at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering. From the description of Oral history interview with Carl Chambers, 1977 Nov. 30. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 63276353 ...

Moore School of Electrical Engineering

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The catalyst which advanced electrical engineering and the computer beyond the differential analyzer and to the ENIAC was the demands of the Army during the 1930s and particularly the Second World War. The practical need which the differential analyzer could not solve effectively was the preparation of firing tables and charts which showed how to aim artillery accurately. Too many people and too much time were required to prepare these tables. The federal government was willing to f...

Mauchly, John W. (John William), 1907-1980

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xg9wsh (person)

Computer science professor and co-designer of the ENIAC, EDVAC, and UNIVAC computers. From the description of Oral history interview with John W. Mauchly, 1976. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 63288500 Computer science professor and co-designer of the UNIVAC. From the description of Sperry Univac Point of View speech, 1973 Nov. 13. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 63276343 ...

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John (Johann) Louis von Neumann (1903-1957) was born in Budapest and showed early signs of being a child prodigy. He entered the University of Budapest in 1921, but also attended the University of Berlin and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology before obtaining a degree in chemical engineering in 1925. He earned his Doctorate in Mathematics from the University of Budapest in 1927. After graduation, he worked at the University of Berlin before becoming a visiting professor to Princeton from ...

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Eckert, J. Presper (John Presper), 1919-1995

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61j9grq (person)

Moore School of Electrical Engineering personnel in the 1940s. From the description of Oral history interview with J. Presper Eckert, Kathleen Mauchly, James McNulty, and William Cleaver, 1980 Jan. 23. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 63297207 Co-designer of the ENIAC, EDVAC, BINAC, and UNIVAC computers. From the description of Oral history interview with J. Presper Eckert, 1975. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record i...