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History and structure[edit]

UNIVAC Sperry Rand label

The UNIVAC division of Sperry Rand had it's origin in three seperate organisations. These were:


Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation[edit]

J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly built the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School of Electrical Engineering between 1943 and 1946. A 1946 patent rights dispute with the university led Eckert and Mauchly to depart the Moore School to form the Electronic Control Company, later renamed Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation (EMCC), based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That company first built a computer called BINAC (BINary Automatic Computer) for Northrop Aviation (which was little used, or perhaps not at all). Afterwards began the development of UNIVAC. UNIVAC was first intended for the Bureau of the Census, which paid for much of the development, and then was put in production.

With the death of EMCC's chairman and chief financial backer Henry L. Straus in a plane crash on October 25, 1949, EMCC was sold to typewriter, office machine, electric razor, and gun maker Remington Rand on February 15, 1950. Eckert and Mauchly now reported to Leslie Groves[citation needed], the retired army general who had previously managed building The Pentagon and led the Manhattan Project.

The most famous UNIVAC product was the UNIVAC I mainframe computer of 1951, which became known for predicting the outcome of the U.S. presidential election the following year: this incident is noteworthy because the computer correctly predicted an Eisenhower landslide over Adlai Stevenson, whereas the final Gallup poll had Eisenhower winning the popular vote 51–49 in a close contest.[1]

The prediction led CBS's news boss in New York, Siegfried Mickelson, to believe the computer was in error, and he refused to allow the prediction to be read. Instead, the crew showed some staged theatrics that suggested the computer was not responsive, and announced it was predicting 8–7 odds for an Eisenhower win (the actual prediction was 100–1 in his favour).

When the predictions proved true – Eisenhower defeated Stevenson in a landslide, with UNIVAC coming within 3.5% of his popular vote total and four votes of his Electoral College total – Charles Collingwood, the on-air announcer, announced that they had failed to believe the earlier prediction.[2]

The United States Army requested a UNIVAC computer from Congress in 1951. Colonel Wade Heavey explained to the Senate subcommittee that the national mobilization planning involved multiple industries and agencies: "This is a tremendous calculating process...there are equations that can not be solved by hand or by electrically operated computing machines because they involve millions of relationships that would take a lifetime to figure out." Heavey told the subcommittee it was needed to help with mobilization and other issues similar to the invasion of Normandy that were based on the relationships of various groups.[3]

UNIVAC Division[edit]

The UNIVAC was manufactured at Remington Rand's former Eckert-Mauchly Division plant on W Allegheny Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[4][5] Remington Rand also had an engineering research lab in Norwalk, Connecticut, and later bought Engineering Research Associates (ERA) in St. Paul, Minnesota.[4] In 1953 or 1954 Remington Rand merged their Norwalk tabulating machine division, the ERA "scientific" computer division, and the UNIVAC "business" computer division into a single division under the UNIVAC name. This severely annoyed those who had been with ERA and with the Norwalk laboratory.[citation needed]

In 1955 Remington Rand merged with Sperry Corporation to become Sperry Rand. General Douglas MacArthur, then the chairman of the Board of Directors of Remington Rand, was chosen to continue in that role in the new company.[6] Harry Franklin Vickers, then the President of Sperry Corporation, continued as president and CEO of Sperry Rand.[6] The UNIVAC division of Remington Rand was renamed the Remington Rand Univac division of Sperry Rand.[4] William Norris was put in charge as Vice-President and General Manager[7] reporting to the President of the Remington Rand Division (of Sperry Rand).[8]

The following is a list of the General Managers/Presidents of the Division, there was a some degree of internal organisation turmoil from the period of the creation of Sperry Rand in 1955 right into the early 60's. This culminated in the resignation of William Norris in 1957[8] and would continue until the early 60's with the decentralisation of the former Remington Group and the promotion of UNIVAC to a full division of Sperry Rand.

# Name Years in office Title
1 William Norris 1955-1957[9][10] Vice-President & General Manager UNIVAC Division
2 Thornton C. Fry 1957-1959[11][12] Vice-President & General Manager UNIVAC Division
3 Jay W. Schnackel 1959-1962[13] Vice-President & General Manager UNIVAC Division
4 Dr. Louis T. Rader 1962-1964[14] President of the UNIVAC Division
5 J. Frank Forster 1964-1966[15] President of the UNIVAC Division
6 Robert E. McDonald 1966-1971[16] President of the UNIVAC Division
7 Gerald G. Probst 1971–1978[17] President of the UNIVAC Division
8 Richard l. Gehring 1978-1981[18][19] President of the UNIVAC Division
9 Joseph J. Kroger 1981-1985[20] President of the UNIVAC / Sperry Computer Systems Division.


In the 1960s, UNIVAC was one of the eight major American computer companies in an industry then referred to as "IBM and the seven dwarfs" – a play on Snow White and the seven dwarfs, with IBM, by far the largest, being cast as Snow White and the other seven as being dwarfs: Burroughs, Univac, NCR, CDC, GE, RCA and Honeywell.[21] In the 1970s, after GE sold its computer business to Honeywell and RCA sold its to Univac, the analogy to the seven dwarfs became less apt and the remaining small firms became known as the "BUNCH" (Burroughs, Univac, NCR, Control Data, and Honeywell).

In 1977, Sperry Rand purchased Varian Data Machines so as to enter the minicomputer market. Varian would be renamed as the Sperry UNIVAC Minicomputer Operation, operating as part of the Sperry UNIVAC division.[22][23] Sperry UNIVAC would continue to market the V77 but never made a significant dent in the minicomputer market.

To assist "corporate identity" the name was changed to Sperry Univac, along with Sperry Remington, Sperry New Holland, etc. In 1978, Sperry Rand, a conglomerate of various divisions (computers, typewriters, office furniture, hay balers, manure spreaders, gyroscopes, avionics, radar, electric razors), decided to concentrate solely on its computing interests and all of the unrelated divisions were sold. The company dropped the Rand from its title and reverted to Sperry Corporation. In 1981/82 the distinct Sperry UNIVAC branding was dropped and the division was renamed as the Sperry Computer Systems Division.[20][24] In 1986, Sperry Corporation merged with Burroughs Corporation to become Unisys.

After the 1986 merger of Burroughs and Sperry, Unisys evolved from a computer manufacturer to a computer services and outsourcing firm, competing at that time in the same marketplace as IBM, Electronic Data Systems (EDS), and Computer Sciences Corporation.

As of 2021, Unisys continues to design and manufacture enterprise class computers with the ClearPath server lines.[25]

1100 Series[edit]

1107[edit]

Example Costs[edit]

Following is an example budget estimate for a UNIVAC 1107 from 1963.[26]

Component Number Unit price Total Cost
Univac 1107 central processor 1 $888,750 $888,750
2-bank core memory with 65,536 words 1 $798,750 $798,750
Card Reader - 600cpm 1 $17,500 $17,500
Card reader control and sync unit 1 $83,250 $83,250
High speed printer - online, 600 lpm 1 $25,000 $25,000
High speed printer control and sync unit 1 $77,500 $77,500
Uniservo II-A 4 $20,000 $80,000
Uniservo II-A control and sync unit 2 $77,500 $155,000
Uniservo II-A power supply 1 $25,300 $25,300
Uniservo III-A 14 $36,500 $511,000
Uniservo III-A control and sync unit - dual channel 2 $240,00 $480,000
Uniservo III-A power supply 2 $25,300 $50,600
Papertape subsystem - Medium speed 1 $32,250 $32,500
FH 880 drum - 4,718,592 characers - 786,432 words 2 $92,000 $184,000
FH 880 drum control and sync unit 1 $72,000 $72,000
Additional teletype typewriters attached to console channel 2 $10,000 $19,100
Total $3,500,000
Tapes 10,000 $30 $300,000
Spare Parts $145,000

List of Sperry RAND Presidents[edit]

# Name Years in office Title
1 Elmer Ambrose Sperry 1910-1929 [27] Founder and President of Sperry Gyroscope Co.
2 Thomas A. Morgan 1929-1933

1933-1946, 1949-1952[28]

President and General Manager of Sperry Gyroscope Co. Inc.

President of Sperry Corporation

3 Harry Franklin Vickers 1952-1955

1955-1967

President of Sperry Corporation

President of Sperry Rand

4 J. Frank Forster 1967-1971 President of Sperry Rand

List of Sperry UNIVAC presidents[edit]

The following is a incomplete list of the Presidents of the UNIVAC division of Sperry Rand.

# Name Years in office Title
1 William Norris 1955-1957[29][30] Vice-President & General Manager UNIVAC Divsion
2 Thornton C. Fry 1957-1959[31][32] Vice-President & General Manager UNIVAC Division
3 Jay W. Schnackel 1959-1962[33] Vice-President & General Manager UNIVAC Division
4 Dr. Louis T. Rader 1962-1964[34] President of the UNIVAC Division
5 J. Frank Forster 1964-1966[35] President of the UNIVAC Division
6 Robert E. McDonald 1966-1971[36] President of the UNIVAC Division
7 Gerald G. Probst 1971–1978[37] President of the UNIVAC Division
8 Richard l. Gehring 1978-1981[38][39] President of the UNIVAC Division
9 Joseph J. Kroger 1981-1985[20] President of the UNIVAC / Sperry Computer Systems Division.
Computer architecture bit widths
Bit
Application
Binary floating-point precision
Decimal floating-point precision

In computer architecture, 30-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 30 bits wide. Also, 30-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers, address buses, or data buses of that size.

A 30-bit word can also store 5 6-bit characters. Generally if Floating-point arithmetic such systems used a 60-bit double word.

Examples[edit]


References[edit]

  1. ^ Brinkley, Alan. American History: A Survey (12th ed.).
  2. ^ Alfred, Randy. "Nov. 4, 1952: Univac Gets Election Right, But CBS Balks". Wired.
  3. ^ "Army Asks Congress for Electronic Calculator". Corpus Christi Times. September 27, 1951. Retrieved 2018-07-01 – via NewspaperARCHIVE.
  4. ^ a b c "The Sperry Rand Corporation Announces the Formation of Remington Rand Univac" (PDF). World Radio History. ELECTRONICS Magazine. January 1956. pp. 47–49. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  5. ^ "The Computer Directory 1956" (PDF). Bitsavers. Computers and Automation. June 1956. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-11-14. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Arthur M. (November 1977). "From Brewerytown to Sperry Rand". SPAN. U.S. Embassy New Delhi. Archived from the original on 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  7. ^ Worthy, James C. (1987). William C. Norris : portrait of a maverick. Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger Pub. Co. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-88730-087-5. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b Norberg, Arthur Lawrence (2005). Computers and Commerce: A Study of Technology and Management at Eckert-Mauchly Computer Company, Engineering Research Associates, and Remington Rand, 1946-1957. MIT Press. pp. 251–266. ISBN 978-0-262-14090-4. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Heads New Univac Division". The New York Times. 18 October 1955. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Obituaries: William C. Norris, founder of Control Data; Yen Do, Vietnamese publisher - Americas - International Herald Tribune". The New York Times. 23 August 2006. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  11. ^ Lukoff, Herman (1979). From dits to bits : a personal history of the electronic computer. Portland, Oregon: Robotics Press. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-89661-002-6.
  12. ^ Norberg, Arthur L. (2005). Computers and commerce: a study of technology and management at Eckert-Mauchly Computer Company, Engineering Research Associates, and Remington Rand, 1946-1957. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. p. 273. ISBN 9780262140904.
  13. ^ Operations, United States Congress Senate Committee on Government (1960). Committee Prints. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Slump in Sperry Rand's Stock Stirs Questions on Wall Street". The New York Times. 13 June 1964. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  15. ^ "J. Frank Forster, 64, Is Dead; Was Chairman of Sperry Rand". The New York Times. 3 July 1972. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  16. ^ Smith, William D. (4 February 1966). "McDonald Appointed President Of Sperry Rand Univac Division". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Executive Changes". The New York Times. 10 August 1971. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Computerworld". IDG Enterprise. 29 May 1978. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  19. ^ "BUSINESS PEOPLE". The New York Times. 1 August 1979. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  20. ^ a b c Purdum, Todd S. (27 October 1985). "Sperry's strategist; A new chief pushes to keep his company independent". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  21. ^ Dvorak, John C. (2006-11-25). "IBM and the Seven Dwarfs – Dwarf One: Burroughs". Dvorak Uncensored. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  22. ^ "Sperry Univac V77 Family Communications Capabilities" (PDF). BitSavers.org. DATAPRO RESEARCH CORPORATION. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  23. ^ "Sperry Plans to Buy Varian Data Machines". The New York Times. 24 May 1977. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  24. ^ Lee, John A. N.; Lee, J. A. N. (1995). International Biographical Dictionary of Computer Pioneers. Taylor & Francis. p. 274. ISBN 978-1-884964-47-3.
  25. ^ "Unisys History". 9 July 2021.
  26. ^ Appropriations, United States Congress House Committee on (1963). Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1964: Department of Commerce. Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Eighty-eighth Congress, First Session. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 609.
  27. ^ "Elmer Sperry Dies; Famous Inventor". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  28. ^ "Thomas A. Morgan, 80, Dead; Ex-Chairman of Sperry Corp.; Executive Also Served North American Aviation and Curtiss-Wright Tobacco Farmer's Son Salesman Abroad Military Supplier Question of Security". The New York Times. 30 October 1967. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  29. ^ "Heads New Univac Division". The New York Times. 18 October 1955. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  30. ^ "Obituaries: William C. Norris, founder of Control Data; Yen Do, Vietnamese publisher - Americas - International Herald Tribune". The New York Times. 23 August 2006. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  31. ^ Lukoff, Herman (1979). From dits to bits : a personal history of the electronic computer. Portland, Or. : Robotics Press. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-89661-002-6.
  32. ^ Norberg, Arthur L. (2005). Computers and commerce: a study of technology and management at Eckert-Mauchly Computer Company, Engineering Research Associates, and Remington Rand, 1946-1957. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. p. 273. ISBN 9780262140904.
  33. ^ Operations, United States Congress Senate Committee on Government (1960). Committee Prints. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  34. ^ "Slump in Sperry Rand's Stock Stirs Questions on Wall Street". The New York Times. 13 June 1964. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  35. ^ "J. Frank Forster, 64, Is Dead; Was Chairman of Sperry Rand". The New York Times. 3 July 1972. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  36. ^ Smith, William D. (4 February 1966). "McDonald Appointed President Of Sperry Rand Univac Division". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  37. ^ "Executive Changes". The New York Times. 10 August 1971. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  38. ^ "Computerworld". IDG Enterprise. 29 May 1978. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  39. ^ "BUSINESS PEOPLE". The New York Times. 1 August 1979. Retrieved 19 May 2024.


Category:Computer data

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