Before the invention of electronic computers, “computer” was a job description, not a machine. Both men and women were employed as computers, but women were more prominent in the field. This was a matter of practicality more than equality. Women were hired because there was a large pool of women with training in mathematics, but they could be hired for much less money than men with comparable training. Despite this bias, some women overcame their inferior status and contributed to the invention of the first electronic computers.
In 1942, just after the United States entered World War II, hundreds of women were employed around the country as computers. Their job consisted of using mechanical desk calculators to solve long lists of equations. The results of these calculations were compiled into tables and published for use on the battlefields by gunnery officers. The tables allowed soldiers in the field to aim artillery or other weapons, taking into account variable conditions such as temperature and air density. Today, such calculations are done instantly in the battlefield with microcomputers.
One place where human calculators were busy at work was the Moore School of Engineering, a part of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Dozens of women worked there, cranking the handles on their calculators and producing column after column of numbers. Adele Goldstine and Mary Mauchly, both employees of the university and wives of professors involved in computing, helped recruit and train the women who, early in the war, were usually college graduates with math degrees. Later, high school graduates were used. A few highly trained workers, including one Lila Todd, operated what was called a differential analyzer, a machine that could calculate the path of a shell or bomb as it flew through the air. But engineers such as John Mauchly thought it would be better to design a machine to do other tasks such as calculating ballistic tables, and began working on what became the ENIAC, one of the first electronic digital computers. Some women were hired to assemble the circuits used in the ENIAC, although very little is known about who these women were.
When the ENIAC was nearing completion, six women were chosen from among the human computers to be trained as programmers. These were Kay McNulty, Frances Bilas, Betty Jean Jennings, Elizabeth Snyder, Ruth Lichterman, and Marlyn Wescoff. By this time, it was the autumn of 1945. The war had ended, but the computing program was not cancelled. Instead, the military remained interested in a machine that would calculate complex trajectory equations very rapidly, and support for the project continued. The six women chosen to be programmers devised the very first computer program, which was demonstrated when the ENIAC was unveiled in early 1946. A short time later, all the women were taken off the project when the machine was taken to a military base near Washington, D.C., but several of them found employment elsewhere as programmers, and five of the six are alive as of this writing.
Information and links supplied by ETHW.org
Click on images to enlarge.
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Computer Humor –
Reblogged this on Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News.
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Thank you, Ned!
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Reblogged this on John's Notes and commented:
I read this a while back and have been meaning to reblog it. I thought it gave an interesting look back in history. It is a good, though quick, look at how women used computing to aid in World War II.
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Future generations will let these stories fade into oblivion – thank you for helping to keep these memories alive and recognized for their efforts!
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Yes, it is very good.
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Heel goed dat vrouwen eens erkentelijkheid krijgen voor geleverde prestaties
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Reblogged this on quirkywritingcorner and commented:
I’m not certain why I find it comforting that people were computers before the machine came along. 🙂
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I’m glad you found this story interesting enough to share with your readers.
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Thank you for posting, GP!
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My pleasure. All my best to Rick.
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Reblogged this on KCJones.
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Thank you very much, Penny!
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I’m doing a module of women in music and this women in maths inspires me to write a positive uplifting progress piece. I personally love Maths and took an A level Maths with all my performance subjects.
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Ah-ha, you are your parent’s daughter. The same logical, organized mind!! I’m glad I was able to influence, even in a small way.
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Go women ! This blew my mind – thx for the history here – and how cool to know how math helped in war and still does – and really loved the comic with the desk and WordPress – Twitter – etc
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Glad you enjoyed this post so. I try to have something for everyone.
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☺️
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Always LOVE reading about the contributions of women – and there are always *many* during war times, the contributions of most long forgotten. Thanks so much for giving these particular women the recognition they always deserved.
Wish it were no longer true that companies still think of women as a source of cheaper labor. Some day, hopefully, there will be no glass ceiling thinking. ::sigh::
xx,
mgh
(Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
ADD/EFD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
“It takes a village to transform a world!”
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They deserve more. There is no minority that has ever had so much or so long an oppression!!
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Well said, GP, and so sadly true.
xx,
mgh
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I had the pleasure of meeting McNulty at a mathematics conference back in the late 1970s.
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How interesting. Can you tell us more about the meeting?
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Reblogged this on When Women Inspire and commented:
GP Cox at Pacific Paratrooper highlights the role of women in World War II in the creation of the computers we see around us today. Let’s celebrate female historical (and present) contributions!
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Much appreciated, Christy. These women deserve the recognition they never received back then.
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This is excellent, GP! Great spotlight on the women who were human computers and rose above as programmers. I had to read that term “human computers” twice while reading your article – it’s amazing how quickly we become accustomed to a computer being an inanimate device we use daily. Going to reblog this one!
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Thank you. These women worked on secret operations and we enjoy their efforts today!!
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Exactly! They deserve the spotlight. Thanks for all the great posts you provide here!
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You are more than welcome. I am simply happy you find them interesting!
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Thank you for helping to bring these women the recognition they deserved for long!
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Thank you for sharing the story.
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