Computer history - 1949

Updated: 07/13/2023 by Computer Hope

Major computer events in 1949

Manchester Mark 1

The Manchester Mark 1 became operational in April 1949. The Harvard-MARK III, the first of the MARK machines to use an internally stored program and indirect addressing, went into operations again under the direction of Howard Aiken.

The first memory chip to utilize wires, in the form of a grid, for addressing memory cores was invented by Jay Forrester in 1949.

New computer products and services introduced in 1949

The EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) performed its first calculation on May 6, 1949.

The Australian computer CSIRAC (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer) was run for the first time in 1949.

IBM introduced the IBM CPC (Card-Programmed Electronic Calculator).

IBM released the IBM 407 Accounting Machine.

IBM released the "Model A Executive" Electric Typewriter with proportional spacing.

Computer and technology-related events in 1949

Richard Hamming developed the Hamming code.

Claude Shannon first proposes the idea of block ciphers in his paper Communication Theory of Secret Systems.

Claude Shannon built the first machine that played chess at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The first atomic clock was built in 1949 at the U.S. National Bureau of Standards.

The concept of a computer program capable of reproducing itself (virus) was first mentioned by John von Neumann in his 1949 "Theory of self-reproducing automata" essay.

The Popular Mechanics magazine predicts: "Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."

The (small-scale electronic machine) was fully operational at Manchester University.

Short Code, proposed by John Mauchly in 1949, is considered the first high-level programming language.

Computer companies and organizations founded in 1949

The first computer company, Electronic Controls Company, was founded by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly in 1949, the same individuals who helped create the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer).

Tally was founded in 1949.

Computer pioneers born in 1949

Robert Cohn

Robert Cohn was born in April 1949.

John Thomson was born on April 24, 1949.

Howard Cunningham was born on May 26, 1949.

Bob Wallace was born on May 29, 1949.

Robert Frankston was born on June 14, 1949.

Alain Glavieux was born on July 4, 1949.

John Chambers was born on August 23, 1949.

John Markoff was born on October 24, 1949.

Barry Lam was born in 1949.

David Bradley was born in 1949.

John Walker was born in 1949.

Mike Berlyn was born in 1949.

Paul Ceruzzi was born in 1949.

Computer pioneer deaths in 1949

James Bryce passed away in 1949 (Age: 69).

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