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Special Feature: The Second Great Industrial Revolution
Author(s) -
Rickards Tudor,
Moger Susan
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
creativity and innovation management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.148
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1467-8691
pISSN - 0963-1690
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8691.00102
Subject(s) - feature (linguistics) , work (physics) , industrial revolution , history , library science , art history , visual arts , computer science , engineering , art , archaeology , mechanical engineering , philosophy , linguistics
In this issue we are pleased to celebrate the building of the world’s first computer – a machine that could hold a user program in electronic storage and process it at electronic speeds. The first program worked at 11.00am on 21 June 1948. The development took place at the University of Manchester, and has been celebrated by the reconstruction of that first machine and a re‐running of the original program, in the city on the same date, fifty years later. In this feature we look at the events that led to this momentous discovery, and at the careers of the developers, Tom Kilburn and Freddie Williams. Chris Burton, who led the reconstruction project, gives a fascinating account of the work required to bring ‘The Baby’ back to life. The material produced for this feature was written at the University of Manchester, as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations. We would like to thank the editorial team of ‘This Week, Next Week’ the newsletter of the University, for access to the material which appears here, with slight modifications.