Abstract
A challenge is presented to the usual account of the development of the Manchester Baby which focuses on the contribution made to the project by the topologist M.H.A. (Max) Newman and other members of the Dept. of Mathematics. Based on an extensive re-examination of the primary source material, it is suggested that a very much more significant role was played by mathematicians than is allowed for in the dominant discourse. It is shown that there was a single computer-building project at Manchester in the years immediately following World War II and that it was conceived, led, funded, supplied and staffed by Newman who was supported throughout by his long-time friend P.M.S. (Patrick) Blackett. In the course of the paper three persistent myths, which lend support to the dominant narrative, are identified and debunked.
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hilbert, D., Ackerman, W.: Grundzüge der theoretischen Logik. Springer, Berlin (1928)
Davis, M.: Computability and Unsolvability, 3rd edn. Dover, New York (1982)
Evans, C.R.: Interview with Maxwell Herman Alexander Newman (Transcript by D.P. Anderson). Science Museum/National Physical Laboratory (1975) (unpublished interview)
On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem. Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, Ser. 2 42 (1937)
Anderson, D.P.: Was the Manchester ‘Baby’ conceived at Bletchley Park? BCS eWIC (2008), http://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/ewic_tur04_paper3_OnlinePDF.pdf
Newman, M.H.A.: Letter to Colonel Wallace, D.D.(A), Government Communications Headquarters, Bletchley Park, August 8 (1945) (unpublished letter)
Newman, M.H.A.: Letter to John von Neumann. In: Box 6 Folder 2 Item 2 The Newman Digital Archive, the History of Computing Group and St John’s College Cambridge, February 8 (1946a) (unpublished letter)
Evans, C.R.: Interview with Frederic Calland Williams (Transcript by David P. Anderson). Science Museum/National Physical Laboratory (1976a) (unpublished interview)
Evans, C.R.: Interview with Donald Michie (Transcript by David P. Anderson). Science Museum/National Physical Laboratory (1976b) (unpublished interview)
Hodges, A.: Alan Turing: The Enigma. Simon & Shuster, New York (1983)
Lavington, S.H.: A History of Manchester Computers, 2nd edn. British Computer Society (1998)
Napper, R.B.E.: The Moore School Lectures and the British lead in stored program computer development 1946- 1953 (2004), http://www.virtualtravelog.net/entries/2003/10/the_moore_school_lectures_and_the_british_lead_in_stored_program_computer_development_1946_1953.html (retrieved December 11, 2005)
Napper, R.B.E.: Newman’s Contribution to the Mark 1 Machines (1998), http://www.computer50.org/mark1/newman.html (retrieved December 6, 2005)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 IFIP
About this paper
Cite this paper
Anderson, D. (2010). Contested Histories: De-mythologising the Early History of Modern British Computing. In: Tatnall, A. (eds) History of Computing. Learning from the Past. 2010. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 325. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15199-6_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15199-6_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-15198-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-15199-6
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)