Exhibitions
Many important objects from the Computer History
Collection were on exhibition in Information
Age: People, Information and Technology, a 14,000 square
foot display that was located on the first floor of the National Museum
of American History. Opened in May 1990, the exhibition surveys
the history of information technology and its relation to society from
the origin of the telegraph to the present.
The display featured over 900 original artifacts.
They included Samuel Morse's telegraphs, Alexander Bell's telephones,
a Hollerith punched card machine, a 4-rotor German ENIGMA encoder
used during World War II, the ENIAC computer, the TELESTAR test satellite,
an automotive welding robot, a selection of early personal computers,
and digital high definition television.
Theme
Information Age centered on the technical
evolution of electrical and electronic information technology. The telegraph
began a revolution in communications by transmitting information in electrical
form instantly to distant locations. This new phenomenon of instant information
was later expanded by the telephone, radio and television. Then the digital
electronic computer made it possible to process information
instantly. As the computer developed and matured, communication and processing
technologies were joined into networks that now stretch around the world,
affecting all areas of global society.
Although the exhibition was built around this technical
theme, its emphasis was as much on social as technical change. The transformations
in information technology came in a context of social forces such
as business, politics, wars, and consumer interests. The exhibition highlighted
the interaction between these social forces and the development of information
technology.
Objects
Computer Collections Sample
The Computer History Collection includes artifacts relating to the production,
collection, modification, manipulation, and use of information in modern
American society. The collection comprises artifacts employed in the
processing of information as opposed to its simple communication. By
processing, we mean operations of objects that involve the following functions:
- Encoding, or getting data into a machine in coded form
- Storage, or preserving the data or information within the device
- Modification, or changing the data within the device.
- Decoding, or getting data out of the device into symbols that humans can
understand.
Data processing objects in the computer collections are all electronic, as
earlier processing equipment is in the mathematics collections or other
collections in the museum. Because information technology is ubiquitous,
other units of the museum also rightly collect artifacts of information
technology related to specific processing tasks (e.g. robotic machine tools,
typewriters, printing presses, and photographic equipment).
Approximate numbers of objects in the collection:
Mainframe computers or components |
25 |
Minicomputers |
10 |
Supercomputers |
4 |
Microcomputers |
50 |
Other digital devices |
15 |
Analog computers |
10 |
Computer peripherals |
100 |
Software |
500 |
Electronic components |
1000 |
Electronic calculators |
450 |
Documentation |
150 cubic feet |
Reference Materials
The Computer History Collection includes a wide variety
of reference materials related to the objects in its collections. Access
to these materials generally requires making a research appointment with the
Division. Over time, selected materials being digitized and made available
to the public on-line. A few are available below.
In addition to holdings in the Division, reference
materials on the history of computing are available in the American
History Archives Center.
Original Press Release 1 for ENIAC Computer, February 16, 1946 (3 pages
/ 48 K)
Original Press Release 2 for ENIAC Computer, February 16, 1946 (2 pages
/ 42 K)
Original Press Release 4 for ENIAC Computer: Physical Aspects and Operations,
February 16, 1946 (3 pages / 31 K)
Presentation entitled "Using the Computer: Episodes Across 50 years"
by David K. Allison. Delivered to the ACM Annual Meeting Session honor
the 50th Anniversary of the ENIAC, Philadelphia, February 14, 1996. (590K)
Monticello
Memoirs, a 1996 gathering at Monticello of Pioneers of the Information
Age
Interviews
Although the development of modern communications and computers is
among the most important aspects of modern American history, historical
writing about the development is remarkably sparse. And few of the leaders
of the development have written their own memoirs.
The Smithsonian Institution is capturing the recollections of some
of these people in the form of oral and video histories. In this area,
you will find transcripts of some of the Smithsonian's images. Copyrights
of the interviews belong to the Smithsonian Institution. They may be cited
or quoted briefly, but not reproduced or published in any form.
Marc Andreesen - Interview
with Mr. Marc Andreesen, Chief Technical Officer of Netscape, Inc., winner
of the 1995 SAIC Leadership Award for Global Integration, Computerworld
Smithsonian Awards Program.
Gordon
Bell - Interview
with Dr. Gordon Bell, winner
of the 1995 MCI Leadership Award for Innovation, Computerworld
Smithsonian Awards Program.
Robert Ballard
- Interview with Dr. Robert Ballard of the Jason Project, winner of the
1990 Award in the Category of Education and Academia, Computerworld Smithsonian
Awards Program
Seymour Cray - Interview
with Seymour Cray, Winner of the 1994 MCI Information Technology Leadership
Award for Innovation, Computerworld Smithsonian Awards Program.
J. Presper Eckert
-Interview with J. Presper Eckert, Co-Inventor of the ENIAC (Electrical
Numerical Integrator and Computer)
From Development of the Eniac Interviews, Smithsonian Videohistory Collection,
Record Unit 9537, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, DC
Larry Ellison - Interview
with Mr. Larry Ellison, Chief Executive Officer of Oracle, winner of the
1994 SAIC Leadership Award for Global Integration, Computerworld Smithsonian
Awards Program.
Douglas Engelbart
-Interview with Mr. Douglas Engelbart, Winner of the 1994 Price Waterhouse
Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement, Computerworld Smithsonian Awards
Program.
Bill Gates - Interview
with Mr. William "Bill" Gates, Winner of the 1993 Price Waterhouse
Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement, Computerworld Smithsonian Awards
Program.
Steve Jobs - Interview
with Mr. Steve Jobs, Chief Executive Officer of NEXT.
Ann Meyer - Interview
with Ms. Ann Meyer of the Center for Applied Special Technology, winner
of the 1993 Award in the Category of Education and Academia, Computerworld
Smithsonian Awards Program.
Tom
Nies - Interview with Mr. Tom Nies, Founder and Chief Executive
Officer of CINCOM Corporation, a pioneer software company.
Kenneth H. Olsen
- Interview with Mr. Kenneth H. Olsen of Digital Equipment Corporation,
winner of the 1993 MCI Information Technology Leadership Award for Innovation,
Computerworld Smithsonian Awards Program.
Charles S. Peskin and
David M. McQueen - Interview with Charles S. Peskin and David M. McQueen,
Winners of the 1994 Cray Leadership Award for Breakthrough Computational
Science, Computerworld Smithsonian Awards Program.
Lewis Sadler - Interview
with Mr. Lewis Sadler, Winner of a 1989 Computerworld Smithsonian award
in the category of Government and Nonprofit Organizations.
Hal Uplinger -
Interview with Mr. Hal Uplinger, Winner of a 1989 Computerworld Smithsonian
Award in the Media, Arts & Entertainment Category for the production
of the "Live Aid Concert"
Don Wetzel -Interview
with Mr. Don Wetzel, Co-Patentee of the Automatic Teller Machine. The
National Museum of American History gratefully acknowledges the financial
support of MasterCard International in the creation of this transcription
and the video history from with it was made.