The February 15th 1946 The world was presentedElectronic numerical interactor and computer (Eniac), the first electronic computer General-Purposethat is, for general use, of history. This machine was able to perform calculations that would have requested weeks in a few seconds. The newspapers of the time described him as a revolutionary invention born from the genius of John Presper Eckert And John Mauchlytwo engineers from the University of Pennsylvania. In the story of the media, however, a fundamental detail was missing: they had been the like that that complex that complex Jean Jennings, Frances Elizabeth “Betty” Snyder, Kathleen “Kay” McNulty, Marlyn Wescoff, Ruth Lichterman And Frances “Fran” Bilasthe “Eniac girls“, Now in the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame. For decades their contribution was forgotten, despite their work he laid the foundations of modern programming. These commendable women are added to Ada Lovelace (the first programmer of history) in the list of scientists who have changed the history of information technology.
Who were the eniac girls, women programmers
Atstart of the 1940sfor women graduated in mathematics le possibility of career They were scarce and the teaching, being the female work more respected and paid better, represented almost an obligatory choice. The Second World War, however, radically changed the situation: with millions of men to the front, the United States were short of Qualified workforce for the scientific research he is military projects. Intensive campaigns were then started to recruit women in technical disciplines such as engineering and mathematics, traditionally male sectors. According to the Women’s Bureau of the United States Department of Labor:
“By examining the job opportunities in war time in the scientific and engineering sectors, you will discover that the slogan, there as elsewhere, is ‘Women Wanted’.”
In 1942, the Army of the United States published an announcement aimed at young mathematics graduates to work on Ballistic Research Laboratory (Brl) at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, a military base in Maryland, and to Moore School of Electrical Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania. Hundreds of mathematics that they did not want to teach responded to the announcement.
The work consisted in theelaborate ballistic tables detailed that described the bullet trajectoriesessential to help soldiers hit the enemies with precision. This required to determine the position of the bullet in each fraction of a second, taking into account variables such as initial speed, launching angle, air resistance and even atmospheric conditions. To do this, they had to be resolved complex equations with iterative methods to approximate the solutions. These calculations required enormous quantities of time and manual work, often entire days to complete a single table.
Therefore were taken more than 200 mathematics, calls “Computers” or “calculators”, to calculate hand trajectories, without manuals And without teachersor using a tool called Differential Analyzer. This tool, based on gears and rotating discs, reduced the calculation time to just 15 minutesbut required a strong human supervision for the setting of the parameters and the interpretation of the results.
What is Eniac and why it was invented
In 1943, while hundreds of “Computers” They performed complex ballistic calculations manually, a team led by the engineers John Mauchly And John Presper Eckert He was working on a secret project: an electronic computer that could perform those calculations in a few seconds. The machine, called Electronic numerical interactor and computer (in short Eniac), cost $ 500,000 at the time (6 million current dollars), was about 180 square metersweighed 30 tons and contained 18,000 valves Thermionics, subject to frequent failures. With a capacity of 5000 Operations per second, Eniac represented a big step forward, but a crucial element was still missing: how to translate mathematical equations into a language understandable for the machine.
To solve this challenge, Herman Goldstine, the military manager of the project, chose six the best computers. They trained them on how to insert inputs and how to read the ENiac outputs and delegated them to develop the software making them making them programmers of the Eniac.
Unlike today, where lines of code lines are written to program using a keyboard, the ENiac programmers worked directly on thehardware. They had to physically wire The machine, connecting thousands of cables, setting switches and checking the data flow through the various units of the machine. Without programming languages and with Limited access to manuals Due to the secrecy of the project, to work they proceeded for attempts based on the few diagrams available to them. They tested the programs on paper before trying them on ENiac, because every mistake meant having to wire everything again. Make a program work could request weeks of manual work. Over time, they became experts that they could be precisely identified, in the event of an error, which thermionic valve had caused malfunction.
The success of ENiac and the exclusion of programmers
At the end of the war, after years of work in secret, the time came to present the Eniac in the world. A few days after the demonstration, Herman Goldstine commissioned Betty Snyder And Jean Jennings to plan the calculation of a ballistic trajectory for the event. The procedure still had defects and the two passed through entire days to try to correct them. The night before the event there were an error: the virtual bullet which they had to calculate the trajectory continued to descend indefinitely and did not stop at the ground. They returned to their discouraged houses, but the following morning Betty woke up with an intuition. Arrived in front of the ENiac, she looked at him, He pulled on a single switch and solved the problem. As Jean said later:
“Betty as sleepy understood that more than most of the people of alarm clocks.”
Thus, the February 15, 1946in front of the incredulous eyes of generals, scientists and journalists, theEniac performed in a few seconds a calculation that would have required 40 hours if done by hand. The results of these calculations were printed and distributed to participants as souvenirs. To celebrate the demonstration, a gala dinner was held to which, however, Betty and Jean were not invited.
In the following days, the New York Times He celebrated the Eniac as a technological revolution. He wrote that the car could calculate a trajectory in 15 seconds, ignoring the working days needed for program The operation. Also the Images Widespread they strengthened this narrative. One of the most iconic images shows a uniform man who connects ENiac cables, while programmers appear in the background, not very visible. When the same photography was used for a military recruitment campaign, the two women they were completely eliminate from the photo. This removal perfectly reflected the thought of the time. Although in the 1940s there were intense campaigns for the recruitment of women, their role in the workforce was however seen as a response to a temporary need. As a guide for managers from 1943 explains:
Women can be trained to do any job, but remember that “a woman is not a man”; A woman is a substitute, like plastic instead of metal.
It should therefore not be surprised that their story remained submerged until 1986, when he came to the public thanks to the reconstructions of Kathy Kleiman. Now their work has finally been recognized and the 6 programmers have been officially included in the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame In the 1997. The computer planned by them, after ten years of honored career, in 1955he was retired.
