Harvard Professor Harry Lewis on Early Calculating and Computing Devices @HarvardMagazine

Uploaded July 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

What did the first computers in the world look like? Harry R. Lewis ’68, Ph.D. ’74, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science Emeritus and former Dean of Harvard College, as well as Interim Dean of the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, explores the history of early calculating and computing devices and shows us his personal collection.

Read Harry Lewis' feature article in Harvard Magazine on six decades of relations with computers:
harvardmagazine.com/2024/07/harry-lewis-computers-humanity

Read more from Harry Lewis:
harvardmagazine.com/writer/harry-r-lewis
harvardmagazine.com/2020/08/features-a-science-is-born
harvardmagazine.com/2012/08/reinventing-the-classroom

Timestamps:
0:30-1:01 slide rule
1:02-4:31 cruising rod, early mechanical calculator
4:32-5:36 switches and relays
5:37-6:18 elevator control relay example
6:19-8:02 vacuum tube machine switches
8:03-10:04 module from the TX2 computer
10:05-11:38 integrated circuits
11:39-13:56 storage, control cards
13:57-16:47 core memory plane
16:48-19:15 disk drive
19:16-21:40 manual for PDP 4 computer

#harvard #harvarduniversity #science #computerscience #history

Harvard Professor Harry Lewis on Early Calculating and Computing Devices

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