The LEO, standing for Lyons Electronic Office, was a series of early computer systems created by J. Lyons and Co. The first in the series, the LEO I, was the first computer used for commercial business applications. The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC, and its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and David Caminer of J. Lyons and Co. LEO I ran its first business application in 1951. In 1954 Lyons formed LEO Computers Ltd to market LEO I and its successors, LEO II and LEO III, to other companies. LEO series computers remained in use until 1981. 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
SignificanceLEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC, making it a direct descendant of the pioneering British stored-program machines rather than an independent design. 1 FAQs
Why is LEO I called the first business computer?
It ran a strictly business job for a catering firm in November 1951: valuing the output of its bakeries.
LEO I earned the label from the job it did, not from its speed. When computers were widely believed to be confined to technical applications, the catering firm J. Lyons and Co. announced in November 1951 that it had built its own computer, the Lyons Electronic Office, and used it to value the output of its bakeries, a strictly business application. Lyons built it with permission to copy aspects of the design of the Cambridge EDSAC, and its engineering team was headed by John Pinkerton.
Connections
Associated With
David Caminer, Pioneers Verified en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEO_(computer): "The systems analysis was carried out by David Caminer." Written as associated-with rather than invented: a systems-analysis role, not the engineering design credited to Pinkerton.
In Field
Source Wikipedia: LEO (computer)
Invented By
Verified en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEO_(computer): "its chief designer, John Pinkerton, designed the machine."
Preceded By
EDSAC, 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)
In the Other Atlases
Developed By
Also in Business Atlas: the developer of this subject.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: LEO (computer)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC.
Lead sentence
LEO (Lyons Electronic Office) was a series of early computer systems created by J. Lyons and Co.
View the Source Wikidata: LEO I
- Wikidata Q2991842, resolved via en.wikipedia pageprops (wave rule R-L)
- In Group: First-Generation Vacuum-Tube Computers, Wikidata instance-of first-generation computer
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