IBM 603
 | |
| Developer | IBM |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | IBM |
| Type | Vacuum-tube calculator |
| Release date | 1946 |
| Predecessor | IBM 601 |
| Successor | IBM CPC with IBM 604 computing unit |
| Related | IBM 602 |
The IBM 603 Electronic Multiplier was the first mass-produced commercial electronic calculating device; it used full-size vacuum tubes to perform multiplication and addition.[1] (The earlier IBM 601 and released in the same year IBM 602 used relay logic.) The IBM 603 was adapted as the arithmetic unit in the IBM Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator. It was designed by James W. Bryce,[2] and included circuits patented by A. Halsey Dickenson in 1937.[3] The IBM 603 was developed in Endicott, New York, and announced on September 27, 1946.[4]
IBM's CEO Thomas J. Watson was doubtful of the product, but commercialization was pushed for by his son Thomas J. Watson Jr.[5] Only about 20 were built since the bulky tubes made it hard to manufacture, but the demand showed that the product was filling a need.[6] Ralph Palmer and Jerrier Haddad were hired to develop a more refined and versatile version of the 603, which became the IBM 604 Electronic Calculating Punch.[1] The 604 used miniature tubes and a patented design for pluggable modules, which made the product easier to manufacture and service.[7] Throughout the following 10 years IBM would build and lease 5600 units of the IBM 604.[1]
References
- ^ a b c IBM 603 The First Commercial Electronic Calculator IBM History, accessed September 21, 2020]
- ^ "ASCC People and progeny: James W. Bryce". IBM archives. Archived from the original on January 24, 2005. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "ASCC People and progeny: Important elements and their developers". IBM archives. Archived from the original on December 1, 2005. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
- ^ "Endicott chronology". IBM archives. Archived from the original on January 29, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
- ^ McElvenny, Ralph; Wortman, Marc (2023). The Greatest Capitalist Who Ever Lived. PublicAffairs. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-5417-6852-9.
- ^ Richard R. Mertz (November 9, 1970). "Herb Grosch Interview" (PDF). Computer Oral History Collection. Smithsonian National Museum of American History Archives Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
- ^ Pluggable Support for Electron Tube and Circuit US patent 2637763, filed July 9, 1948, issued May 5, 1953, Ralph L. Palmer
External links
- Columbia University Computing History: The IBM 603
- IBM Archives: IBM 603 electronic multiplier
- Record Controlled Calculating Machine US patent 2641408, filed October 26, 1951, issued June 9, 1953, Russel A. Rowley and Delmar C. Newcomb