John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert: The Fathers of Computers Who Built the First Programmable Machine

Who are the pioneers behind the creation of the first programmable machine? American engineers John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert are often referred to as the fathers of computers. As graduate students in physics at the University of Pennsylvania, they invented the world’s first general-purpose, fully electronic digital computer, which was called the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator). This invention put an end to the slow and tedious process of computers, and Mauchly and Eckert's invention of the computer remains a landmark of modern technology.

Mauchly and Eckert were two educated and innovative scientists who by no means achieved their invention by sheer luck. Born in Philadelphia in 1907 and 1909, respectively, Mauchly and Eckert first met at Penn in 1934, where Mauchly was a teaching assistant for a course in electrical engineering. Eckert, a independent student, was present and was fascinated with the ideas Mauchly was teaching. The two men eventually collaborated on a paper they titled, "Proposed Electronic Calculating Instrument," which they presented at the first Moore School Lectures, a series of courses on electronic computers at the University of Pennsylvania.

The two were inspired by the idea of building an electronic computer by designing individual components. Their invention of a fully functional programmable machine unveiled the first use of general-purpose computers, paving the path for future generations to conceptualize the idea of computer technology. Before Mauchly and Eckert’s invention, computing machines or calculators were exorbitantly expensive and often required large parts.

The ENIAC computer was the first electronic, digital computer of its time. This invention was a response to a need to speed up calculations with the development of the atomic bomb, the majority of the mathematical calculations being done in the 1940s by hand. The ENIAC computer was the first large-scale electronic machine with the capability of calculating war-related information such as atomic power and navigation data.

Despite the importance of their invention, Mauchly and Eckert faced a significant road block in claiming their rightful property credit for the invention of the ENIAC computer. After both men eventually resigned from the University of Pennsylvania and began their own company, the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, the US government took the two to court for a patent dispute over who owned the rights to the ENIAC. The court decided that since the two designed their computer as part of the work at the School for Electrical Engineering at Penn, the intellectual property belonged to the US government.

In spite of the fact that recognition of the ENIAC computer eluded them, the groundwork they set out went on to become the premise of many advanced digital computer systems used today. The invention of the ENIAC computer prompted the development of numerous other computers, with the first commercial computers of its day, the UNIVAC I, being based off its design.

It is said that without the work of these men, many of the technologies we have today would not be possible. The impact of these pioneers will continue to be remembered, even as modern technology continues to develop and advance.