Early Computers

Combining the administrative and computer experience of Louis N. Ridenour, the mathematical ability of Abraham H. Taub, and the electrical engineering background of Ralph E. Meagher, the Digital Computer Laboratory developed ILLIAC I in 1952. The first digital computer built and owned entirely by an educational institution, it weighed five tons and contained 2,800 vacuum tubes. The ILLIAC series continued with ILLIAC II, a transistorized computer, and culminated in the mid-1960s with the ILLIAC IV supercomputer, the largest and fastest in the world.

Urbana, Illinois · United States