J. Presper Eckert

J. Presper Eckert
J. Presper Eckert
Born	April 9, 1919 (age 107); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	June 3, 1995 (aged 76); Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Electrical engineer, computer pioneer
Known for	Co-inventor of ENIAC, co-founder of Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation, developer of UNIVAC

John Adam Presper "Pres" Eckert Jr. (April 9, 1919 – June 3, 1995) was a prominent American electrical engineer and an early innovator in the field of computing. Together with John Mauchly, he was instrumental in designing the first general-purpose electronic digital computer (ENIAC), delivering the inaugural computing course (known as the Moore School Lectures), co-founding the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation, and creating the first commercially available computer in the United States, the UNIVAC, which incorporated his invention of mercury-based delay-line memory.

Education

Eckert was born in Philadelphia to Ethel M. Hallowell, who came from a distinguished Quaker lineage, and John Eckert, a prosperous real estate businessman of Swiss German and Alsatian heritage. He was raised in Philadelphia’s Germantown area. His early education took place at William Penn Charter School, where he became a member of the Engineer's Club of Philadelphia during his high school years and gained practical experience working in television pioneer Philo Farnsworth’s electronics laboratory. Demonstrating exceptional aptitude, Eckert achieved second place nationwide on the mathematics section of the College Board exam.

Initially enrolling at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a focus on business studies, he shifted in 1937 to Penn’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering. By the age of 21, Eckert secured his first patent for a "Light Modulating Method and Apparatus." While at Moore School, he contributed to radar timing projects, improved both speed and precision of the differential analyzer, and played a role in teaching an electronics course designed for wartime needs under the Engineering, Science, and Management War Training (ESMWT) initiative backed by the United States Department of War.

Development of ENIAC

John Mauchly, who was then serving as chairman of physics at Ursinus College, joined Moore School after completing a summer course in electronics. He proposed constructing an electronic digital computer utilizing vacuum tube technology that would outperform existing differential analyzers in speed and accuracy for calculating ballistics tables. This concept caught the attention of Lieutenant Herman Goldstine, Moore School’s Army liaison, resulting in a contract awarded on April 9, 1943, at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The project, known as ENIAC, appointed Eckert as its chief engineer and reached completion by late 1945, with its formal public introduction occurring in February 1946.

Entrepreneurship

In March 1946, Eckert and Mauchly departed from Moore School following disagreements over intellectual property ownership. The University of Pennsylvania had implemented a patent policy requiring inventions to be assigned to the institution; however, Eckert and Mauchly sought to retain their rights. Their negotiated agreement allowed them to keep patent ownership of ENIAC while granting the university licensing rights for government and nonprofit use; nonetheless, the university pursued commercial licensing rights as well.

Following this, they established the Electronic Control Company—later renamed Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation—which developed the Binary Automatic Computer (BINAC), notable for its use of data storage on magnetic tape. They also secured a contract from the National Bureau of Standards to construct the Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC). Eckert was honored with the Howard N. Potts Medal in 1949. After encountering financial challenges in 1950, their company was acquired by Remington Rand, which completed work on the UNIVAC I on December 21, 1950.

In recognition of his groundbreaking work in high-speed electronic digital computing, Eckert received the National Medal of Science in 1968.

Later career

Eckert continued his leadership role at Remington Rand, maintaining his position through the company's 1986 consolidation with Burroughs Corporation that resulted in the creation of Unisys. He stepped down from Unisys in 1989 but remained active as a consultant afterward. Eckert succumbed to leukemia in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

In 2002, he was honored posthumously by being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

"Eckert architecture"

Eckert contended that the architecture commonly attributed to "von Neumann architecture" should instead bear his name as the "Eckert architecture," since the stored-program concept was originally developed at the Moore School prior to von Neumann’s involvement during 1944–1945. This viewpoint, endorsed by original ENIAC programmer Jean Bartik, disputes von Neumann’s sole recognition for the stored-program computer design.

External links

Oral history interview with J. Presper Eckert, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota. Eckert, co-creator of the ENIAC, discusses its development at the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering; addresses challenges related to patent rights and consequences stemming from the circulation of John von Neumann’s 1945 First Draft of the Report on EDVAC, which influenced ENIAC’s patent claims. Interview conducted by Nancy Stern, October 28, 1977.
Oral history interview with Carl Chambers, Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota. Concentrates on interactions among ENIAC personnel and the professional dynamics between Mauchly and Eckert.
A Tribute to Dr. J. Presper Eckert Co-Inventor of ENIAC. 2000 Daniel F. McGrath Jr.
ENIAC museum at the University of Pennsylvania
Q&A: A lost interview with ENIAC co-inventor J. Presper Eckert
1989 interview of Eckert by Alexander Randall 5th, published February 23, 2006 on KurzweilAI.net. Features Eckert’s insights on ENIAC’s development.
Interview with Eckert Transcript of a video interview conducted by David Allison for the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, February 2, 1988. Provides a comprehensive technical overview of ENIAC’s design process.