Oral history interview with R. Blair Smith, 1980, May.

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Oral history interview with R. Blair Smith, 1980, May.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/63289557

Smith discusses his career at IBM in the 1950s. He reviews his educational background and explains how he became involved in data processing at Boeing Aircraft and the California Shipbuilding Corporation before and during World War II. In early 1945 Smith worked with Western Airlines and later Flying Tigers as manager of tabulating. Smith joined IBM as an assistant salesman in 1950 in southern California. He discusses his relationship with customers--Lockheed, RAND, and Douglas among others--and the formation of the Digital Computing Association, a computer users group from which SHARE later evolved.

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University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

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SNAC Resource ID: 7885497

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Related Entities

There are 5 Entities related to this resource.

International Business Machines Corporation

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6330m1p (corporateBody)

International Business Machines Corporation was incorporated in New York State on June 16, 1911 under the name Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. In 1922, Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. purchased all of the shares of Deutsche Hollerith Maschinen Gesellschaft. In 1924 the official name of the company was changed to International Business Machines Corporation. In 1933, IBM CEO Thomas Watson ordered the merger of IBM subsidiaries in Germany (Optima, Degemag, Holgemag, Dehomag) under the name De...

Mapstone, Robina,

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Digital Computing Association.

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Smith, R. Blair.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6v70b21 (person)

International Business Machines (IBM) salesman and later marketing management. From the description of Oral history interview with R. Blair Smith, 1980, May. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 63289557 ...

American Society for Public Administration. Section on Humanistic, Artistic, and Reflective Expression

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In 1955 an informal meeting of computing personnel was held to investigate the practicality of a joint effort by several IBM 704 computer users to coordinate programming work. Represented were the Rand Corporation, North American Aviation, Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, and IBM. The group evolved into a general users' group for medium and large-scale IBM computers, including the 360/50 and systems 370 and 303X. The organization conducted annual meetings, produced a newsletter, and helped develop...