Original ENIAC brochure from University of Pennsylvania
Collection Creator::
National Museum of American History. Department of the History of Science and Technology Search this
Container:
Box 2 of 24
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-001, National Museum of American History. Department of the History of Science and Technology, Exhibition Records
ENIAC materials, SI video History Program - Setting up the interview, transcript
Collection Creator::
National Museum of American History. Department of the History of Science and Technology Search this
Container:
Box 2 of 24
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-001, National Museum of American History. Department of the History of Science and Technology, Exhibition Records
National Museum of American History. Department of the History of Science and Technology Search this
Container:
Box 21 of 24
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-001, National Museum of American History. Department of the History of Science and Technology, Exhibition Records
National Museum of American History. Department of the History of Science and Technology Search this
Container:
Box 14 of 24
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 00-001, National Museum of American History. Department of the History of Science and Technology, Exhibition Records
In the Computing Gallery of NMAH documented J. Presper Eckert's involvement with the design of the ENIAC, c. 1940-1988, including: Eckert's engineering background; early uses of calculators to perform ballistic calculations; materials testing; design a...
Container:
Interviews
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 9537, Development of the Electrical Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) Videohistory Collection
Development of the Electrical Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) Videohistory Collection
Extent:
2 videotapes (Reference copies). 7 digital .wmv files and .rm files (Reference copies).
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Videotapes
Transcripts
Date:
1988
Introduction:
The Smithsonian Videohistory Program, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation from 1986 until 1992, used video in historical research. Additional collections have
been added since the grant project ended. Videohistory uses the video camera as a historical research tool to record moving visual information. Video works best in historical
research when recording people at work in environments, explaining artifacts, demonstrating process, or in group discussion. The experimental program recorded projects that
reflected the Institution's concern with the conduct of contemporary science and technology.
Smithsonian historians participated in the program to document visual aspects of their on-going historical research. Projects covered topics in the physical and biological
sciences as well as in technological design and manufacture. To capture site, process, and interaction most effectively, projects were taped in offices, factories, quarries,
laboratories, observatories, and museums. Resulting footage was duplicated, transcribed, and deposited in the Smithsonian Institution Archives for scholarship, education,
and exhibition. The collection is open to qualified researchers.
Descriptive Entry:
In the Computing Gallery, Computers Before 1946, of the National Museum of American History (NMAH) on February 2, 1988, David K. Allison, Curator at NMAH, interviewed
J. Presper Eckert about significant aspects of the design, development, and operation of the ENIAC. Specifically, the session documented both technical and non-technical aspects
of the design of the ENIAC, including Eckert's engineering background, early uses of calculators to perform ballistics calculations, materials testing, and the assembly of
components. Eckert demonstrated the operation of the accumulators, plug-in units, wiring conduits, and function tables with the original artifacts displayed in the gallery.
Much of the session was recorded for inclusion in the Information Age exhibit which opened at NMAH in May 1990. The video producer, Peter Vogt, frequently interrupted
or stopped the interview to meet script and exhibit requirements. Therefore, this session has a number of rough cuts for a professional production.
Historical Note:
The ENIAC (Electrical Numerical Integrator and Computer), the largest and most powerful early computer, was designed to compute the paths of artillery shells, and to
solve computational problems in fields such as nuclear physics, aerodynamics, and weather prediction. The U.S. Army Ordnance Department funded The Moore School for Electrical
Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania to build the computer between 1943 and 1945. J. Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly were the principal designers. The ENIAC computed
a thousand times faster than any existing device.
J. Presper Eckert (1919-1995) attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering, in 1941 and 1943 respectively. He received
an honorary D.Sc. from the same university in 1964. He became chief engineer at The Moore School of the University of Pennsylvania for the ENIAC in 1944 through 1946. In 1946
he became vice president for the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation. He was appointed vice president for the Remington Rand Division of the Sperry Rand Corporation, 1955-1962,
and remained in that position when the company became UNIVAC and later UNISYS.
Smithsonian Institution. Archives. Oral History Program Search this
Container:
Box 14 of 15
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
Oral history interviews, such as these, are subject to copyright law. In most cases, the interviewees deeded the intellectual property rights to the Smithsonian, after review and revision of transcripts. In some cases, intellectual property rights were retained in whole or in part. These files contain the unrevised drafts, which all oral history projects keep as a record of the editing done on the transcript. These drafts cannot, however, be used by researchers without the permission of the interviewee or his/her heirs or assigns. Please consult these individual collections for the restriction terms, Transferring office; 11/15/2005 memorandum, Yowell to Henson; Contact reference staff for details.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 06-010, Smithsonian Institution, Archives, Oral History Program, Oral History Program Files
Folder 9 9537 ENIAC, J. Presper Eckert, S1, 1987-1995
Collection Creator::
Smithsonian Institution. Archives. Oral History Program Search this
Container:
Box 2 of 15
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
Oral history interviews, such as these, are subject to copyright law. In most cases, the interviewees deeded the intellectual property rights to the Smithsonian, after review and revision of transcripts. In some cases, intellectual property rights were retained in whole or in part. These files contain the unrevised drafts, which all oral history projects keep as a record of the editing done on the transcript. These drafts cannot, however, be used by researchers without the permission of the interviewee or his/her heirs or assigns. Please consult these individual collections for the restriction terms, Transferring office; 11/15/2005 memorandum, Yowell to Henson; Contact reference staff for details.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 06-010, Smithsonian Institution, Archives, Oral History Program, Oral History Program Files
No restrictions. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by the Smithsonian Institution Archives. Contact SIA Reference Staff for further information (email photos@si.edu)
Data Source:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_arc_367114
1 Page(s) matching your search term, top most relevant are shown: View entire project in transcription center
No restrictions. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by the Smithsonian Institution Archives. Contact SIA Reference Staff for further information (email photos@si.edu)
Data Source:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_arc_367116
2 Page(s) matching your search term, top most relevant are shown: View entire project in transcription center
No restrictions. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by the Smithsonian Institution Archives. Contact SIA Reference Staff for further information (email photos@si.edu)
Data Source:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_arc_367118
8 Page(s) matching your search term, top most relevant are shown: View entire project in transcription center