Milestone-Nomination:Whirlwind Computer
From GHN
Docket Number: 2010-11
Proposal Link: http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestone-Proposal:Whirlwind_ComputerIn 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
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.
<h2>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.