New map will show off Philly’s impressively rich computer history

The ENIAC — for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer — was developed at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946. What you may not know: That famous number cruncher was just the beginning for computer developments in Philadelphia.

“Philly is definitely the birthplace of electronic computing,” Jim Scherrer told Technical.ly. He’s the founder of the Compuseum, a nonprofit focused on computer history and education. “So the ENIAC ushered in this dawn of the computer age, and we haven’t looked back.”

To showcase the importance of the region in computer history, Scherrer and Compuseum created a map marking relevant landmarks around Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Along with the ENIAC, some of the locations and milestones highlighted on the map include:

• Eckert and Mauchly Computer Corporation — the world’s first computer company (Philadelphia)
• 6502 Chip — the first computer chip in the Apple Computer line (Valley Forge)
• Philco Transac — the fastest transistorized computer (Lansdale)
• Illiac IV — biggest and most expensive computer ever made (Paoli)
• Selectron — first memory device for computers (Lancaster)
• Commodore — top selling personal computer of all time (West Chester)
• Philco SB Transistor — first transistor into a computer (Lansdale)
• Unisys — merger of two computer companies, took over the Univac computer (Blue Bell)
• 401 N. Broad St. — one of the first internet hubs (Philadelphia)
• Swarthmore College student Dan Kohn — first online credit card transaction, (Swarthmore)
• SunGard Backup — largest data backup and storage repository (Wayne)

Compuseum has been working on the map for about a year, and debuted it on World Computer Day in February.

A version of the Compuseum map completed for World Computer Day (Jim Scherrer)

You can chat about the map and the history at Compuseum’s May 8 Philly Tech Week event, “The Big Three Early Computing Innovations of Southeastern PA.” Discussion will focus on the RCA Selectron memory tube, the Philco Transac and the Illiac series, with insights and details from several computer history experts.

The map itself is a work in progress, according to Scherrer, who is still accepting suggestions for notable landmarks to add. His goal is to make computer history more digestible and accessible for the public.

“Picture’s worth 1000 words,” Scherrer said. “And there’s really not much like a map for widening your vision of some topic or concept very fast.”