The Women who Programmed the ENIAC

08/08/22 • 36 min

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During World War II, the United States Army contracted with a group of engineers at the University of Pennsylvania Moore School of Electrical Engineering to build the ENIAC, the world’s first programmable general-purpose electronic digital computer in order to more quickly calculate numbers for ballistics tables. Once the top-secret device was built, someone needed to figure out how to program the more than 17,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors, 6,000 switches, and 1,500 mechanical relays so that the calculations could be run. Six women mathematicians who had been manually calculating the figures, were chosen to develop the programming, which they worked out before they were even allowed to see the machine.

Joining me to help us learn more about the ENIAC six is Kathy Kleiman, a leader in Internet law and policy, founder of the ENIAC Programmers Project, and author of the 2022 book, Proving Ground: The Untold Story of the Six Women Who Programmed the World's First Modern Computer.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The episode image is “Photograph of World's First Computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator,” National Archives at College Park, ARC Identifier 594262.

Sources:

Proving Ground: The Untold Story of the Six Women Who Programmed the World’s First Modern Computer by Kathy Kleiman
The ENIAC Programmers Project
“Jean Bartik, Software Pioneer, Dies at 86,” by Steve Lohr, The New York Times, April 7, 2011.
“Frances E. Holberton, 84, Early Computer Programmer,” by Steve Lohr, The New York Times, December 17, 2001.
The Computers: The Remarkable Story of the ENIAC Programmers, 2016, Vimeo On-Demand.
“ENIAC Accumulator #2,” Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
“The world’s first general purpose computer turns 75,” by Erica K. Brockmeier, Penn Today, February 11, 2021.
“The Brief History of the ENIAC Computer,” by Steven Levy, Smithsonian Magazine, November 2013.
“ENIAC: First computer makes history,” by Michael Kanellos, ZDNet, February 13, 2006.
“ENIAC Programmers,” Women in Technology Hall of Fame Awards.

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Sources:

Proving Ground: The Untold Story of the Six Women Who Programmed the World’s First Modern Computer by Kathy Kleiman
The ENIAC Programmers Project
“Jean Bartik, Software Pioneer, Dies at 86,” by Steve Lohr, The New York Times, April 7, 2011.
“Frances E. Holberton, 84, Early Computer Programmer,” by Steve Lohr, The New York Times, December 17, 2001.
The Computers: The Remarkable Story of the ENIAC Programmers, 2016, Vimeo On-Demand.
“ENIAC Accumulator #2,” Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
“The world’s first general purpose computer turns 75,” by Erica K. Brockmeier, Penn Today, February 11, 2021.
“The Brief History of the ENIAC Computer,” by Steven Levy, Smithsonian Magazine, November 2013.
“ENIAC: First computer makes history,” by Michael Kanellos, ZDNet, February 13, 2006.
“ENIAC Programmers,” Women in Technology Hall of Fame Awards.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Previous Episode

Filipino Nurses in the United States

A February 2021 report by National Nurses United found that while Filipinos make up 4% of RNs in the United States, they accounted for a stunning 26.4% of the registered nurses who had died of COVID-19 and related complications. Why are there so many Filipino nurses in the United States and especially so many of the frontlines of healthcare? To answer that question, we need to look at the history of American colonization of The Philippines, United States immigration policies, and the establishment of the Medicare and Medicaid programs in the US.

Joining me to help us learn more about Filipino nurses is Dr. Catherine Ceniza Choy, Professor of Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies and Comparative Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of the 2003 book, Empire of Care: Nursing and Migration in Filipino American History, and the new book, Asian American Histories of the United States.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The episode image is “Baby show arranged by Red Cross nurse, Phillipines [sic] Chapter, P.I. Philippines, 1922,” Courtesy of the Library of Congress, No known restrictions on publication.

Additional Sources:

When the Reporter Asks You Why There Are So Many Filipino Nurses in the U.S.: You want more than the count of their lives lost,” by Catherine Ceniza Choy, The Margins, May 17, 2021.
“Why are there so many Filipino nurses in the U.S.?” by Anne Brice, Berkeley News, May 28, 2019.
“Why are there so many Filipino Nurses in California? After Filling a Nursing Shortage in the 1960s, Immigrant Caregivers Have Changed the Practice and the Politics of Health Care” by Catherine Ceniza Choy, Zocalo, September 20, 2019
“Sins of Omission How Government Failures to Track Covid-19 Data Have Led to More Than 3,200 Health Care Worker Deaths and Jeopardize Public Health,” National Nurses United, Updated March 2021.
“COVID-19 takes heavy toll on Filipino health care workers,” PBS News Weekend, May 9, 2020.
“The History of Medicare,” National Academy of Social Insurance.
“History, Philippines,” by Gregorio C. Borlaza, Britannica.
“Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965,” History, Art, & Archives, United States House of Representatives.

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Next Episode

Anne Bonny & Mary Read, Pirate Queens

During the Golden Age of Pirates, two fierce and ruthless pirates stood apart from the rest, despite their brief careers. The only women in their crew, Anne Bonny and Mary Read were aggressive fighters to the end, refusing to surrender even when their captain called for quarter.

Joining me to discuss Anne Bonny and Mary Read is pirate expert Dr. Rebecca Simon, author of the new book, Pirate Queens: The Lives of Anne Bonny & Mary Read.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The episode audio is “Pirate Song,” written by Robert Louis Stevenson and Henry F. Gilbert; and performed by Reinald Werrenrath in July 1925; the audio is in the public domain. The episode image is an illustration of Anne Bonny and Mary Read from the 1724 book A General History of the Pyrates; the image is in the Public Domain and available through the Internet Archive.

Additional Sources: