Milestone-Nomination:Whirlwind Computer
Docket Number: 2010-11
Proposal Link: https://ethw.org/Milestone-Proposal:Whirlwind_Computer
In the space below the line, please enter your proposed citation in English, with title and text. Text absolutely limited to 70 words; 60 is preferable for aesthetic reasons. NOTE: The IEEE History Committee shall have final determination on the wording of the citation
Please also include references and full citations, and include supporting material in an electronic format (GIF, JPEG, PNG, PDF, DOC) which can be made available on the IEEE History Center’s Web site to historians, scholars, students, and interested members of the public. All supporting materials must be in English, or if not in English, accompanied by an English translation. If you are including images or photographs as part of the supporting material, it is necessary that you list the copyright owner.
In the space below the line, please describe the historic significance of this work: its importance to the evolution of electrical and computer engineering and science and its importance to regional/national/international development.
What features or characteristics set this work apart from similar achievements?
Please attach a letter in English, or with English translation, from the site owner giving permission to place IEEE milestone plaque on the property.
The letter is necessary in order to process your nomination form. Click the Attachments tab to upload your letter.
Whirlwind Computer 1944 to 1959 The Whirlwind Computer was developed in this building by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was the first high-speed digital computer operating in real time using random-access magnetic-core memory. Whirlwind featured outputs displayed on a CRT and a light pen to write data on the screen. Whirlwind’s success led to the United States Air Force’s Semi Automatic Ground Environment - SAGE - system and to many business computers and minicomputers in the 1960s.
