Science & Tech
4
In 1952, IBM sent Reynold Johnson to San José to open its first West Coast development laboratory to research new data storage methods. At this site in 1955, IBM unveiled RAMAC, Random Access Method of Accounting and Control, the world’s first system for storing computer data on magnetic disks. The IBM 350 disk drive storage development pioneered on-line computer systems by providing the first storage device with random access to large volumes of data. Disk storage became the primary computer bulk-storage medium, displacing punched cards and magnetic tapes and making possible computer use in airline reservations, automated banking, medical diagnosis, space flights, and on-line database information storage. In 1984, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers named RAMAC an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, and in 1986 Rey Johnson received the National Medal of Technology from President Reagan.
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