UNIVAC I
The first computer built for sale to businesses and government in the United States, and the machine that CBS used on election night in 1952.
UNIVAC I, the Universal Automatic Computer, was designed by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, who left the University of Pennsylvania to form their own company. Remington Rand bought the company in 1950. The first UNIVAC was accepted by the US Census Bureau in March 1951.
It stored data on magnetic tape rather than punched cards, and it used about 5,000 vacuum tubes. Public attention came on election night in November 1952, when CBS used a UNIVAC to forecast the presidential result. The machine predicted an Eisenhower landslide. The producers hesitated to broadcast it because pollsters expected a close race, and the final result was close to the computer's figure.
Why it matters
UNIVAC became a household word for 'computer' in the 1950s and showed businesses that computers could handle payroll and inventory, not only scientific calculation. IBM entered the market in response.
Key facts
- First delivered to the US Census Bureau in 1951.
- Roughly 46 UNIVAC I machines were built.
- Used magnetic tape for input and output.
- Predicted the 1952 presidential election for CBS.
Sources
- Campbell-Kelly, Martin, and William Aspray, et al. Computer: A History of the Information Machine. 3rd ed. Westview Press, 2013.
- Stern, Nancy. From ENIAC to UNIVAC: An Appraisal of the Eckert-Mauchly Computers. Digital Press, 1981.
- Computer History Museum, "Timeline of Computer History" (computerhistory.org/timeline).