A Computer Perspective

Introduction

Prologue

Charles Babbage

Calculating Machines

Statistical Machines

Logical Automata

1890s

The 1890 Census. First Russian Census. Galton: The Measure of Man. Finger Prints. John Gore at the Prudential. Marquand's Logic Machine. Pastore: Logic on Wheels. Mental Calculation. Léon Bollée. The "Millionaire". The Comptometer and the Burroughs. Calculation by Measurement

1900s

The Dynamo and the Virgin. Moxon's Master. Alfred Binet: The Scale of Intelligence. Punch Cards for Commerce. Statistical Fallout. Taylorization. The Copper Man. Astronomical Calculations. Bjerknes' Weather Mechanics

1910s

Gyroscopic Guidance. Maintaining an Attitude. Assembly Lines. Torres' Theory of Automata. Torres' Algebraic Machines. The Great Brass Brain. Pearson's Battle for Biometrics. Power's Printing Tabulator. Facts and Government. Un-uniform Soldiers. Aberdeen. Weather Forecast-Factory

1920s

Bush's Profile Tracer. The Product Integraph. L.J. Comrie and Scientific Calculation. Corn and Correlation. Thomas J. Watson Sr. and the Business of Machines. Ben Wood and Educational Measurement. Planning the Five Year Plans. Minorsky and Metal Mike. Homeostasis

1930s

Dark Visions of Machines. Some Machine Utopias. Robots. Servomechanisms. Social Security. Hooten: The American Criminal. America Speaks. Leontief and Input-Output. Eckert's "Mechanical Programmer". The Bush Differential Analyzer. Meccano. Zuse. The Switch to Base Two. Aiken and the A.S.C.C.. The Universal Turing Machine

1940s

Self-regulating Systems. ENIAC at the Moore School. Ballistics. The First Programmers. The von Neumann Concept. The Weather Group. The "Analytical Engine". Operations Research. Information Processing. Cryptography. Cybernetics. Simulation in Real Time. The Computer

The First Twenty Years of the Computer

Exhibition Credits

Acknowledgments

Index