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Witness History

The invention of the ‘Baby’ computer

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.41.6K Ratings

🗓️ 8 November 2024

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In June 1948, the ‘Baby’ was invented. It was the first stored-program computer, meaning it was the first machine to work like the ones we have today.

It was developed in England at the University of Manchester.

The computer was huge, it filled a room that was nearly six metres square. The team who made it are now recognised as the pioneers of modern computing.

Gill Kearsley has been looking through the archives to find out more about the 'Baby'.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Freddie Williams and Tom Kilburn, the inventors of the Baby shown programming the Manchester Mk 1 computer. Credit: The University of Manchester)

Transcript

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0:00.0

You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.

0:06.5

I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.

0:11.1

I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,

0:16.0

relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.

0:22.4

So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,

0:28.3

and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience.

0:32.3

And maybe that's you.

0:33.6

So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.

0:42.3

Music So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds. Hello and welcome to the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service with me, Jill Kursley.

0:49.5

I'm taking you back to England on June the 21st, 1948, and the birth of modern computing.

0:58.4

Manchester University, where anyone who urgently wishes to know whether two to the power of

1:03.3

127 minus 1 is a prime number or not, can be given the answer by an electronic brain in 25 minutes

1:10.5

instead of by a human brain in six months.

1:13.6

And while you try and work out that calculation,

1:16.3

here's more about that electronic brain,

1:18.7

which is a very early computer.

1:21.2

I've been looking through the archives to find out

1:23.3

about this small-scale experimental machine,

1:26.4

better known as baby. In June 1948, the baby became

1:30.8

the first stored program computer, meaning it was the first machine to work like the computers

1:36.1

we have today. A team building it was led by Sir Freddie Williams.

1:40.5

Although these machines can in fact do these, these complicated calculations at lightning speed,

...

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