Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
On January 7, 1954, Georgetown University teamed up with IBM to perform the first public computer translation of different languages automatically, showing the promise of speedier and easier translation tasks.
The text narrated in this video is from the original article at historyandheadlines.com/history-short-when-computers-translated-languages
Author: Major Dan
Editor and Narrator: Dr. Zar
The following media files are in the public domain for various reasons or have no known copyright restrictions:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BRL61-IBM_702.jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:C.1966._Edward_Stone_in_front_of_IBM_computer_tape_bank._Washington,_D.C._(34389380396).jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FirstCodeLibrary-ESDAC-ThePreparationOfProgramsForAnElectronicDigitalComputer-1951.jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gebouwen_en_monumenten_knhm,_typemachines,_ibm_type_650_magnetic_drum_data_proce,_Bestanddeelnr_162-0882.jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Georgetown_University_Logotype.svg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Older_IBM_Logo_2.png
The images by Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M available at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IBM_650_with_front_open.jpg and commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Keypunching_at_Texas_A%26M2.jpg are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
The images by Dan available at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IBM_701console.jpg and commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IBM_701_frame.jpg are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
The image by Victor Korniyenko available at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:English_russian_dictionary.jpg is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
The image by Dogcow available at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Basile_Bouchon_1725_loom.jpg is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
The image by Donald Trung Quoc Don (photograph in the background), various contributors (Wikimedia software), and Alphabet, Inc. (Google Translate) available at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Google_Translate_pop-up_screen_in_Android_12_(January_2022).png is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
The images by 3632036 available at pixabay.com/videos/american-flag-american-police-31238/, by Edurs34 available at pixabay.com/illustrations/board-chalk-chalkboard-education-5585922/, by geralt available at pixabay.com/illustrations/globe-world-languages-translate-110775/, by mephala1980 available at pixabay.com/videos/woman-phone-smartphone-technology-38084/, by mohamed_hassan available at pixabay.com/illustrations/newspaper-article-journal-headlines-3324168/, and by Tridindia available at pixabay.com/photos/different-language-international-7389469 are licensed under the Pixabay License: pixabay.com/service/license
Images used in this video are believed to be (based on their file descriptions at the time of access by us) either in the public domain or available per a Creative Commons license or per “fair use”. No copyright infringement is intended. If you are the originator of any image used in this video and would like us to name you and/or include a link to the original source in this video’s description, we will gladly do so.
Please support this channel on Patreon at patreon.com/historyandheadlines
Thank you for watching this video!
On January 7, 1954, Georgetown University teamed up with IBM to perform the first public computer translation of different languages automatically, showing the promise of speedier and easier translation tasks.
The text narrated in this video is from the original article at historyandheadlines.com/history-short-when-computers-translated-languages
Author: Major Dan
Editor and Narrator: Dr. Zar
The following media files are in the public domain for various reasons or have no known copyright restrictions:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BRL61-IBM_702.jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:C.1966._Edward_Stone_in_front_of_IBM_computer_tape_bank._Washington,_D.C._(34389380396).jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FirstCodeLibrary-ESDAC-ThePreparationOfProgramsForAnElectronicDigitalComputer-1951.jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gebouwen_en_monumenten_knhm,_typemachines,_ibm_type_650_magnetic_drum_data_proce,_Bestanddeelnr_162-0882.jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Georgetown_University_Logotype.svg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Older_IBM_Logo_2.png
The images by Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M available at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IBM_650_with_front_open.jpg and commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Keypunching_at_Texas_A%26M2.jpg are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
The images by Dan available at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IBM_701console.jpg and commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IBM_701_frame.jpg are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
The image by Victor Korniyenko available at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:English_russian_dictionary.jpg is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
The image by Dogcow available at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Basile_Bouchon_1725_loom.jpg is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
The image by Donald Trung Quoc Don (photograph in the background), various contributors (Wikimedia software), and Alphabet, Inc. (Google Translate) available at commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Google_Translate_pop-up_screen_in_Android_12_(January_2022).png is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
The images by 3632036 available at pixabay.com/videos/american-flag-american-police-31238/, by Edurs34 available at pixabay.com/illustrations/board-chalk-chalkboard-education-5585922/, by geralt available at pixabay.com/illustrations/globe-world-languages-translate-110775/, by mephala1980 available at pixabay.com/videos/woman-phone-smartphone-technology-38084/, by mohamed_hassan available at pixabay.com/illustrations/newspaper-article-journal-headlines-3324168/, and by Tridindia available at pixabay.com/photos/different-language-international-7389469 are licensed under the Pixabay License: pixabay.com/service/license
Images used in this video are believed to be (based on their file descriptions at the time of access by us) either in the public domain or available per a Creative Commons license or per “fair use”. No copyright infringement is intended. If you are the originator of any image used in this video and would like us to name you and/or include a link to the original source in this video’s description, we will gladly do so.
Please support this channel on Patreon at patreon.com/historyandheadlines
Thank you for watching this video!
