DEFININGtheCOMPUTERAGE The Story of Computer Pioneer

ADMIRAL GRACE HOPPER

IXDS5503: Media History and TheoryProfessor: Jason OcchipintiMarch 6, 2015By: Venus M. Popplewell

Defining theComputer Age:The Story of Computer PioneerAdmiral Grace Hopper

Introduction

On December 8, 1941 the United States declared war on

the Japanese Empire. Grace Brewster Murray Hopper sat

in her office at Vassar College listening to the events on a

small radio. Soon the war effort would lead her away from

her comfortable position as a college professor and put her

in the forefront of the computer revolution. This paper will

detail the storied life of the unrelenting and fearless Grace

Hopper who trail-blazed alongside some of the greatest

innovators, mathematicians and engineers of the era.

Hopper and her peers, men and women, would pioneer

what are now the fundamental computer concepts that run

our modern world.

The Early YearsGrace Brewster Murray was born on December 9, 1906 in New York City to a well-established

family. Of Grace’s parents Beyer (2009)1 states “Grace’s mother was an accomplished math-

ematician, and her father, a life insurance executive, made no distinction when it came to edu-

cating his son and his two daughters. The Murray home at 316 West 95th Street in New York

City, filled with books, provided an environment in which young Grace’s academic ambitions

were supported and encouraged.” Williams (2004) says that Grace was a curious child and

often described herself as having a “basic drive towards technology” (p. 1).

“In September 1924, Grace took the train up the Hudson to begin her college career at Vassar

College” (Williams, 2004, p. 9). Williams (2004) explains that the Great Depression hastened

the drift away from equality in education and economic opportunity. Widespread unemploy-

ment raised the notion that working women were selfishly taking jobs away from men. There-

fore, Vassar created a “School of Euthenics” designed “to raise motherhood to a profession

worthy of women’s finest talents and intellec-

tual gifts”. Disregarding the trend, Hopper con-

centrated on mathematics and physics (p. 9).

Grace graduated from Vassar with honors in

1928 and on June 12, 1930 married Vincent

Foster Hopper. “In 1930 she earned a masters

degree and in 1934 a Ph.D. in mathematics at

Yale, a rare accomplishment for women in

those days, and then she returned to Vassar to teach. By the time of Pearl Harbor, Hopper

had worked her way up to associate professor of mathematics at Vassar” (Booss-Bavnbek &

Hoyrup, 2003, p. 111).

Grace Murray at Vassar, Circa 1930

Thompson Library at Vassar College, Circa 1930

Grace Hopper upon graduation frommidshipman’s school June 27, 1944

Grace, Math and the War“Though her tenured position at Vassar appeared ideal, deep down

Grace wanted to escape a job that was secure and respected but no

longer challenging” (Beyer, 2009).2

The attack by the Japanese on American soil according to Beyer

(2009)3 “awakened a deep patriotism in Grace.” Hopper had a rich

heritage of family members serving in the military. But little did she

know Pearl Harbor would become the “external catalyst” (Beyer,

2009)4 that ignites a lifelong discipline that would contribute as much to

society, technology and the economy as the industrial revolution inno-

vations of the 1800s.

On July 30, 1942, President Roosevelt signed the Navy Women’s

Reserve Act, which authorized the formation of the Women Accepted

for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). In December of 1943,

Grace Hopper obtained a leave of absence from Vassar College and

reported to the United States Naval Reserve Midshipmen’s School.

While Hopper was completing basic training at the Midshipmen’s

School “a one-of-a-kind calculating machine had been shipped to Har-

vard University from IBM’s laboratory in Endicott, New York“ (Beyer,

2009)5. Because of her Ph.D in mathematics, Grace was immediately

reassigned to Harvard and was “about to become the third program-

mer of the world’s first computer” (Beyer, 2009).6

Grace and The World’s First Computer

Grace Hopper is only one of many women that made significant

contributions to the profession of computer programming in the

1940s and 50s. The entry of women into the field, like Grace,

came about because of wartime efforts. Mathematical machines

were built to calculate the weapon trajectories for soldiers fight-

ing in the war. Women with mathematical degrees were re-

cruited to work as “computers” to actually compute, by hand,

the numbers for the military. But Grace shares a unique place in

the history of computing. Grace Hopper worked side-by-side

with the leading computer pioneers of the generation.

The men of the early digital revolution (from left): Howard Aiken, John Von Neumann, and John Mauchly with J. Presper Eckert

Howard AikenGrace met Howard Aiken at Harvard when she was assigned

to work with him on Mark I. Officially called the Automatic Se-

quence Controlled Calculator, Mark I was the brainchild of

Lieutenant Commander Howard Aiken. Aiken called the ma-

chine a “land-based ship” (Beyer, 2009).7 The Mark I stood 8

feet high, 3 feet wide and 51 feet long. It weighed 9,445

pounds and had 350 miles of wiring.

“It was a new type of secret weapon that could changethe outcome of the war. It was to be used to calculate so-lutions for rocket trajectories, proximity fuses, and mines,and to generate tables of mathematical functions thatcould be used to solve general engineering problemsranging from radio wave propagation to ship hull design”(Beyer, 2009).8

Because Hopper was well-written and could easily articulate

the problems associated with the machine, Aiken ordered her

to write what was to become the ‘world’s first computer pro-

gramming manual’. “The result was five-hundred-page book

that was the history of the Mark I and a guide to programming

it“ (Isaacson, 2014, p. 90). As stated by Isaacson (2014), by

1945, thanks largely to Hopper, the Harvard Mark I was the

world’s most easily programmable big computer (p. 94).

Grace Hopper seated next to Howard Aiken (left) and theMark I team at Harvard. Circa 1942

The “Subroutine”Hopper contributed to many significant events in the history of

computing while working with Howard Aiken and the Mark I.

Among the programming innovations Hopper refined was the

“subroutine”, a program that could be stored in the machine to

handle operations that were required repeatedly. As stated

by Williams (2004) “She was always looking for shortcuts,

which in the early days meant assembling collections of sub-

routines. A subroutine was a clearly defined, easily symbol-

ized, often repeated program” (p. 52).

The “Bug”In addition, her crew helped to advance the terms bug and

debugging. “They found a moth with a wingspan of four

inches that had gotten smashed in one of the electromechani-

cal relays. It was retrieved and pasted into the logbook with

Scotch tape. “Panel F (moth) in relay,” the entry noted. “First

actual case of bug being found.” From then on, they referred

to ferreting out glitches as “debugging the machine” (Isaac-

son, 2014, p. 94).

John Von NeumannAnd it is while working with the Harvard Mark I team that Admi-

ral Hopper becomes associated with a second technological pi-

oneer. John Von Neumann was referred to by his peers as “the

great mathematician and mathematical physicist of the day”

(Beyer, 2009).9

Von Neumann was commissioned to work on the Manhattan

Project, a secret development project that produced the first

atomic bombs during World War II. Von Neumann needed a

way to speed up the mathematical process so he visited the

Harvard crew to better understand how the Mark I (which was

now in it’s second iteration, the Mark II) could help with the im-

plosion problems they were encountering with the bomb. Hop-

per was told the specifics of the problem but not the context.

Beyer (2009)10 states that “Hopper was well versed in partial dif-

ferential equations “ and she, along with another coder, pro-

vided the mathematical answer to solving the implosion

problem with the bomb. It was a full year after the bomb was

detonated on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that Hopper and her

team “[became] aware of the magnitude of their work” (Beyer,

2009).11 The atomic bomb essentially ended World War II in

August 1945.

John Von Neumann, Circa 1940s

Grace and The Breakthrough Computer “Grace Murray Hopper was admired and respected not only for

her technological achievements but also for her energy, enthusi-

asm, and willingness to serve as a mentor” (Gürer, 2002).

John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert

“In 1949, Hopper joined what is widely regarded as the first com-

puter “startup,” the (EMCC) Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corpora-

tion” (Staff, n.d.). J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly were two

of the leading minds and creators of the ENIAC (Electronic Nu-

merical Integrator and Computer) which was regarded as the

first general-purpose electronic computer. Eckert and Mauchly

believed they could “create the first commercial computer com-

pany” (Beyer, 2009).12

According to Williams (2004), Hopper became a member of a

small software group working directly for John Mauchly (p. 69).

Williams (2004) goes on to say “their objective was to create a

truly universal electronic device that could deal with [commercial

and accounting problems] equally well” (p. 70).

“The UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was a high-speed

electronic digital computer that dealt with numerical data and

J. Presper Eckert (left) and John Mauchly, Circa 1940s

that could also handle alphabetic characters. True to Eckert’s and

Mauchly’s original intention, it was designed as a general-pur-

pose machine for commercial as well as scientific use” (Williams,

2004, p. 71 ). The UNIVAC was completed in 1951 and was a

success. It was considered the ‘first break-through’ computer.

“After working closely with Mauchly to develop an instruction

code for UNIVAC, she began the work that was to make her justly

famous: her role in the invention of the compiler and her part in

the creation of COBOL” (Williams, 2004, p. 76).

(continued)

Grace and The Vision of COBOL

“A true visionary, Admiral Hopper conceptualized how a much

wider audience could use the computer if there were tools that

were both programmer-friendly and application-friendly”(‘Grace

Murray Hopper’, n.d.). Hopper believed that computer programs

could be written in English. She moved forward with the develop-

ment of the B-O compiler, later known as FLOW-MATIC. “It was

designed to translate a language that could be used for typical

business tasks like automatic billing and payroll calculation”

(‘Grace Murray Hopper’, n.d.). “Using FLOW-MATIC, Admiral

Hopper and her crew were able to “make the UNIVAC I

and II understand twenty statements in English.” How-

ever, “it was three years before her idea was finally ac-

cepted; she published her first compiler paper in 1952”

(‘Grace Murray Hopper’, n.d.).

Through her vision for the compiler, Grace delivered

computer programming to the masses. “Hopper’s vigor-

ous efforts to further the cause of automatic program-

ming led to the development of Common Business

Oriented Language (COBOL)” (Beyer, 2009).13 Isaacson

(2014) describes it as the “first cross-platform standard-

ized business language for computers” (p. 117).

“The bulk of COBOL, including the format, was basedon Hopper’s 1958 FLOW-MATIC manual. FLOW-MATIC had the advantage of being the only businessdata-processing high-level language in use prior to theintroduction of COBOL. The navy was quick to de-mand COBOL, accepting it officially in 1960, and otherorganizations began to implement it as well” (Williams,2004, p. 93).

COBOL is the major language used today in data processing. Isaacson (2014) qualifies Hopper’s role in this ground-breaking innovation by stating “It also showed her early understanding of a defining fact of the computer age: that hardware would become commoditized and that programming would be where the true value resided. Until Bill Gates came along, it was an insight thateluded most of the men” (pp. 117-118).

The Later Yearsand “Retirement”

“The story of COBOL's development illustrated Hopper'swide-reaching influence in the field of programming. IBM haddeveloped FORTRAN, the densely mathematical program-ming language best suited to scientists. But no comparablelanguage existed for business, despite the clear advantagesthat computers offered in the area of information processing”(‘Grace Hopper Facts, information, pictures |Encyclopedia.com articles about Grace Hopper’, n.d.).

Hopper retired from the Naval Reserve in 1966 but would remain

with the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation (later bought by

Remington Rand in 1950, which became Sperry Rand) until 1971.

“She became captain on the retired list of the Naval Reservein 1973 and commodore in 1983. In 1985 she earned therank of rear admiral before retiring in 1986. But her profes-sional life did not end there. She became a senior consultantfor the Digital Equipment Corporation immediately after leav-ing the Navy and worked there until her death, on January 1,1992” (‘Grace Hopper Facts, information, pictures | Encyclo-pedia.com articles about Grace Hopper’, n.d.).

Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, Circa late 1980s

“Hopper was widely recognized for her achievements and her

often humorous lectures on computer science topics. She re-

ceived many awards, including the United States National

Medal of Technology (1991)” (‘Grace Murray Hopper | Com-

puter History Museum’, n.d.). Grace Hopper received more

than 40 honorary degrees from universities worldwide during

her lifetime (‘Computer Pioneers - Grace Brewster Murray

Hopper’, n.d.).

In closing, Grace talks about her contributions to society,

“The most important thing I've accomplished, other thanbuilding the compiler, is training young people. Theycome to me, you know, and say, 'Do you think we can dothis?' I say, ‘Try it.’ And I back 'em up. They need that. Ikeep track of them as they get older and I stir 'em up atintervals so they don't forget to take chances” (LynnGilbert and Gaylen Moore, 1981, pp. 95-96 ).

References

Beyer, K. (2009). Grace Hopper and the invention of the information age (Kindle.). United Kingdom: MIT Press Ltd. (see Footnotes for ebook locations)

Booss-Bavnbek, B., & Hoyrup, J. (2003). Mathematics and War. Switzerland: Springer-Verlag

New York, LLC. (p. 111) Computer Pioneers - Grace Brewster Murray Hopper. (n.d.). Retrieved 6 March 2015, from

http://computer.org/computer-pioneers/hopper.html Grace Hopper Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about

Grace Hopper. (n.d.). Retrieved 6 March 2015, from http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Grace_Hopper.aspx

Grace Murray Hopper. (n.d.). Retrieved 6 March 2015, from

http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/tap/Files/hopper-story.html Grace Murray Hopper | Computer History Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved 6 March 2015, from

http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/bios/Grace,Hopper/ Gürer, D. (2002). Pioneering Women in Computer Science. ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 34(2).

doi:10.1145/543812.543853 Isaacson, W. (2014). The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created

the Digital Revolution. United States: Simon and Schuster. (pp. 69-76, 90-96, 117-118) Lynn Gilbert and Gaylen Moore. (1981). Particular Passions: Talks with Women who have

Shaped our Times. United States: C. N. Potter!; distributed by Crown. (pp. 95-96) Staff, F. F. (n.d.). Grace Hopper and Information-Age Invention. Retrieved 6 March 2015, from

http://futureforce.navylive.dodlive.mil/2014/06/grace-hopper-and-information-age-invention/ Williams, K. B. (2004). Grace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea (Kindle.). United States: US

Naval Institute Press. (pp. 1, 9, 52, 69-71) #

Footnotes 1 Beyer, 2009, Chapter 1, Section 1, para. 1 2 Beyer, 2009, Chapter 1, Section 3, para. 3 3 Beyer, 2009, Chapter 1, Section 3, para. 2 4 Beyer, 2009, Chapter 1, Section 3, para. 2 5 Beyer, 2009, Chapter 1, Section 4, para. 2 6 Beyer, 2009, Chapter 1, Section 4, para. 2 7 Beyer, 2009, Chapter 1, Section 4, para. 5

8 Beyer, 2009, Chapter 1, Section 4, para. 5 9 Beyer, 2009, Chapter 4, Section 2, para. 10 10 Beyer, 2009, Chapter 4, Section 2, para. 10 11 Beyer 2009, Chapter 4, Section 2, para. 8 12 Beyer, 2009, Chapter 6, Introduction, para. 5 13 Beyer, 2009, Chapter 10, Section 1, para. 1

Defining theComputer Age:The Story of Computer PioneerAdmiral Grace Hopper