A stored-program computer built by Maurice Wilkes and his team at the University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory, which ran its first programs, a table of squares and a list of primes, on 6 May 1949. EDSAC was the SECOND electronic digital stored-program computer to enter regular service, after the Manchester Mark 1 the previous month; it is distinguished from the earlier 1948 Manchester Baby this atlas already describes, which proved the stored-program principle but was built as a testbed rather than a working service. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
SignificanceOne of the earliest computers to provide an ongoing computing service to a working research community rather than functioning as a one-off experimental testbed, a distinction historians treat as separate from and as significant as who ran a stored program first. 1 Connections
In Field
Source Wikipedia: EDSAC
Invented By
Maurice Wilkes led the EDSAC project at the University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory, running its first program in 1949.
Preceded By
Source Wikipedia: EDSAC
Predecessor Of
LEO (computer), Systems LEO I, built for J. Lyons and Co by a team including EDSAC co-designer Maurice Wilkes, was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC design.
Source Wikipedia: LEO (computer)
Sources
1. Wikipedia: EDSAC
Wikimedia FoundationLead sectionQuote, Lead section
ran its first programs on 6 May 1949
Wikipedia: LEO (computer)
Wikimedia FoundationPredecessor Of: LEO (computer), Lead sectionQuote, Predecessor Of: LEO (computer), Lead section
The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC.
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