Harvard Mark I

The Mark I was devised by Howard H. Aiken[?], created at IBM, shipped to Harvard in February 1944 and formally delivered there on August 7, 1944.

The building elements of the Mark I were switches, relays, rotating shafts[?], and clutches. It was built using more than 750,000 components, amounting to a size of 50 feet in length, 8 feet in height and a weight of about 5 tons.

The most famous operator / programmer of the Harvard Mark I was Grace Hopper.

Other universities have their "Mark I" computers as well, but the Harvard Mark I is generally described as "the" Mark I.

See Also

• History of computing
• Other early computers:
  • Atanasoff Berry Computer
  • Colossus computer
  • ENIAC
  • Manchester Mark I
  • Z3

External Links

• IBMs ASCC Reference Room (http://www-1.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/markI/markI_reference)
• Mark I operational manual (http://www.spies.com/aek/pdf/harvard/MarkI_operMan_1946.pdf)