It was a room-sized machine built for war that eventually launched the modern digital age that we know now.
Monday, February 9, 2026 11:13PMThe world's first electronic computer was born at the University of Pennsylvania It was a room-sized machine built for war that eventually launched the modern digital age that we know now.
"It was created just right across the hall 80 years ago, in 1946," said Paul Schafer. Inside the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania sits 1/10th of what was once a room-sized computer. At its 1946 unveiling, ENIAC was made up of 40 nine-foot-high cabinets containing 18,000 vacuum tubes, 10,000 capacitors and 6,000 switches. " not like standard computers today that take instructions out of stored memory and execute them one at a time. This, instead, was programmed by patching wires together," said Paul Schafer, a historian for ENIAC. "Before then, we do calculations. They used gears and levers; computing was so slow back in those days."It was developed during World War II to address the military's need for quick and accurate computations. It's the brainchild of professor John Mauchly and graduate student John Eckert Jr., along with six female mathematicians. "Another problem that they were working on was the trajectory of artillery shells. Not too short, because that's where the good guys are. You don't want that. Let's make sure it goes over the good guys, lands on the bad guys. So it's very important. They had guns that they could not put out into the war because they lacked the firing table. How to calculate one entry in the firing table took about 12 hours on a calculator," he said."Ultimately, at the end of the day, it really was a model of how to do computing general purpose computing," said Dr. Vijay Kumar, the dean of engineering. Computing and computers have evolved into much more powerful, smaller PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones and smartwatches."The University of Pennsylvania is very proud to have started all this," said Schafer. "We'd like to think that this was the machine that started the information age, and that it all started right here in Philadelphia, right here in this building at 33rd and Walnut."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Why Pennsylvania Republicans think they can pull off a big upset in 2026Gov. Josh Shapiro is a big favorite to win re-election this year, but Republicans are united behind their presumptive nominee, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, and determined to make him work for it.
Read more »
Food trucks put the world on a plate for University of Utah studentsFood trucks are finding a niche market on the University of Utah campus, as school officials work to bring an 'international flavor' to students' dining options.
Read more »
Pennsylvania’s wildlife agencies spent more than they took in. Study seeks answers.An independent contractor is studying opportunities for cooperation and shared services between Pennsylvania's Game Commission and Fish and Boat Commission.
Read more »
Pennsylvania, NJ and Delaware schools named among top universities in the worldTime Magazine recently released its list of the “World's Top Universities of 2026,' featuring schools from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
Read more »
Petition started to stop planned Pennsylvania ICE 'Mega-Center' after DHS purchaseA Pennsylvania County has started a petition to try to prevent a former Big Lots distribution center from being converted into an ICE detention facility.
Read more »
Western WA University alum wins Team USA's first medal of 2026 OlympicsBreezy Johnson, a Western Washington University alum, took home Team USA's first medal of the 2026 Olympic Games by securing gold in women's downhill skiing.
Read more »