Celebrate this milestone of the worlds first all electronic, programmable computer!
ENIAC Resources
ENIAC Historical Archives
For those of you who would like to "nerd out" over the original ENIAC engineering drawings, we direct you to Dr. Brian Stuart's archives. These drawings are scans of the microfilm images from the famous trial exhibits. This is not a complete set, but it's a beginning. Because these all come from microfilm scans, they're not particularly good quality, but they're better than nothing.
About the 50th Anniversary
You Can't Start a Fire without A Spark!
Vice President Al Gore looked at the future of technology in his keynote address at the 50th Anniversary of ENIAC in 1996. If there, you might have heard The Penn Band struck up "You Can Call Me Al," as Vice President Gore entered a filled-to-capacity Irvine Auditorium. After citing lyrics from Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" and playing a musical valentine card for his wife, Gore identified the crux of his speech ... you need a spark. His 40-minute talk focused on the federal government's commitment to furthering science and technological research. " 'You can't start a fire without a spark,' " Gore quoted. "The federal government provided the initial spark that eventually flickered into extraordinary products." You can read this timeless message here: https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~lazowska/faculty.lecture/innovation/gore.html
Congressional Record Entry for ENIAC Day 75th Anniversary
PA Senator Bob Casey entered a statement into the March 1st Congressional Record regarding ENIAC Day
RECOGNIZING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF ENIAC DAY
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the electronic numerical integrator and computer. This anniversary, formally known as ENIAC Day, marks the 1946 dedication at the University of Pennsylvania of the first all-electronic, programmable computer. Invented by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert of the University's Moore School of Electrical Engineering, construction of the computer began in July 1943. After several years of tireless work, Mauchly and Eckert produced a 27-ton computer that occupied 1,800 square feet of floor space and could complete complex calculations near instantaneously. Also due credit are the original programmers of ENIAC, Kathleen McNulty Mauchly Antonelli, Jean Jennings Bartik, Frances Betty Snyder Holberton, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, Frances Bilas Spence, and Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum, without whom the operation of the machine would not be possible. After ENIAC, Mauchly and Eckert continued to be industry pioneers and went on to invent UNIVAC, the first commercial computer. Today's Unisys Corporation, which I am proud to note is
headquartered in Blue Bell, PA, traces a momentous part of its origins
back to J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly and their early inventions.
As we mark this 75th anniversary, we marvel at the impact of ENIAC
and how far computers have come. While ENIAC was originally intended as a tool to further our national defense, we have come to rely on later iterations of the computer in all aspects of life. Computers enable us to be more efficient, more connected and have transformed the world we live in. I look forward to what the world looks like when we celebrate the 100th anniversary of ENIAC Day in 2046.
The Computer and the Skateboard ... A Secret History of the First Computer
The Computer and the Skateboard (2009) tells the story of what happens to the inventor, John Mauchly, as the huge potential of his invention begins to dawn on those around him: From the triumphant unveiling and first successful operations of the ENIAC to the crushing blow of being stripped of the patent. Co-Directors Jim Reed, who is John Mauchly's grandson, and Paul David weave archival footage together with interviews of Mauchly's colleagues and friends to create an eclectic homage to Mauchly and a new perspective on the history of computation. It should be noted that this film contains the only available footage anywhere of John Mauchly himself speaking about the first modern computer. — Erica David