All information in this booklet is from The Computer History Museum website unless otherwise acknowledged. (http://www.computerhistory.org/)
Napier's Bones
c. 1 !! "cotland #apiers $ones are portable single%digit multiplication tables that can be arranged to show the product of multiplying almost any multi%digit number by a single digit. &hile the tables were often made of wood or paper' higher (uality sets were fashioned from i)ory or bone' gi)ing the tables their name. Although *ohn #apier in)ented them in the late 1+!!s' a description of the ,bones- was only published at the end of his life' in his book .abdologi/' because he was concerned that others would take credit for his idea. &hile #apier also disco)ered logarithms' the bones are unrelated to that mathematical concept.
Pascaline
1 01 2rance 3hilosopher and mathematician $laise 3ascal created his first mechanical adder at age nineteen and continued e4perimenting with its design for se)eral years. 5is design used a system of weights. &hen adding figures' turning the machines dials lifted a weight which dropped again when the dial changed from a ,6- to a ,!.- 7he action of the dropping weight turned the ne4t wheel one position. 8ore reliable calculating machines would ha)e to wait for impro)ed manufacturing methods.
Pascaline "reproduction#
=oan of >wen and >ordon $ell' $1+!.?1
C)arles Babbage
1;61 % 1?;1 <ngland 9harles $abbage was a brilliant scientist. Cn response to the numerous errors contained in mathematical tables' he de)eloped the ,Aifference <ngine'- a mechanical de)ice that could perform error%free calculation of polynomial functions. 5e completed only a small model before the $ritish go)ernment withdrew funding' forcing him to abandon the proDect. "oon after' "wedish scientists >eorg and <d)ard "cheut@ would complete a working )ersion.
1nigma
c. 16B+ Arthur "cherbius' >ermany 7he <nigma encryption machine was patented by 5ugo Koch in 5olland in 1616 and first produced commercially by >erman engineer Arthur "cherbius in 161B. Cn 161? 3olish officials intercepted one being shipped to the >erman <mbassy in &arsaw. $y 16B0' 3olish intelligence had cracked the <nigmaJs method of operation. :n *uly 1+' 16B6' Dust prior to the #a@i in)asion of 3oland' they passed the secret on to the 2rench and the $ritish go)ernments. 7his three%rotor )ersion is capable of generating 1+!'!!!'!!!'!!!'!!!'!!!'!!! different code combinations by using spare rotors in different orders' )arying the initial positions' and changing the plugs on the front.
c01-*
1nigma
>ift of >wen and >ordon $ell' $16;.?1
7)e 1N5AC at t)e Ballistics 8esearc) $aboratory0 Presper 1c9ert at t)e :unction table and ;o)n 6auc)ly <atc)ing t)e mac)ine
9redit: $allistics .esearch =aboratory
Herman 'oldstine "left# and Presper 1c9ert )olding t)e electronics needed to store a single decimal digit
9redit: $allistics .esearch =aboratory
Alan 7uring
Alan 7uring was found dead at age 01. 5e had published his seminal paper' F:n 9omputable #umbers'F in 16B ' as well as posing significant (uestions about Dudging Fhuman intelligenceF and programming and working on the design of se)eral computers during the course of his career. A mathematical genius' 7uring pro)ed instrumental in code%breaking efforts during &orld &ar CC. 5is application of logic to that realm would emerge e)en more significantly in his de)elopment of the concept of a Funi)ersal machine-.
1-+2
7he A.3A#<7 grows by ten more nodes in the first 1! months of 16;1. 7he year is spent finishing' testing and releasing all the network protocols' and de)eloping network demonstrations for the C999. At $$#' .ay 7omlinson writes a program to enable electronic mail to be sent o)er the A.3A#<7. Ct is 7omlinson who de)elops the userOhost con)ention' choosing the O sign arbitrarily from the non% alphabetic symbols on the keyboard. Inbeknownst to him' O is already in use as an escape character' prompt' or command indicator on many other systems. :ther networks will choose other con)entions' inaugurating a long period known as the e%mail header wars. #ot until the late 16?!s will O finally become a worldwide standard. 2ollowing the lead of Cntels 0!!0 chip' hand%held calculators ranging from the simple 7e4as Cnstruments four%function adding machines to the elaborate 5ewlett%3ackard scientific calculators immediately consign ordinary slide rules to obli)ion. Eero4 3A.9 de)elops a program called "malltalk' and $ell =abs de)elops a language called 9. "te)e &o@niak begins his career by building one of the best%known blue bo4esP tone generators that enable long%distance dialling while bypassing the phone companys billing e(uipment. 7he C999 demonstrations are a tremendous success. :ne of the best known demos features a con)ersation between 1$5AA' *oseph &ei@enbaums artificially%intelligent psychiatrist located at 8C7' and 3A..Q' a paranoid computer de)eloped by Kenneth 9olby at "tanford. :ther demos feature interacti)e chess games' geography (ui@@es' and an elaborate air traffic control simulation. An A7R7 delegation )isits C999 but lea)es in pu@@lement.
People get on my nerves I am not sure I understand you You should pay more attention Suppose you should pay more attention You're entitled to your opinion What makes you think I am entitled to my own opinion?
-- from a conversation between PARRY and the !octor" via the ARPA#$%
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