"Twenty-Five Years of FORTRAN" (Exhibit, 1957-1982) International Business Machines Corporation Collection, 1982, Ms.1983.003

Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech

Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Business Number: 540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu
URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu

Special Collections and University Archives Staff

Abstract

Pioneer Day was celebrated on June 9, 1982, at the National Computer Conference in honor of the 25th anniversary of the delivery of the first FORTRAN compiler. As part of the celebration IBM created and displayed this exhibit. Materials include photographs of FORTRAN pioneers, facsimiles of documents, textual analysis, flow charts, memorabilia, FORTRAN manuals and other publications, and a twelve-minute videotape on the history of FORTRAN.

Administrative Information

Condition Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], "Twenty-Five Years of FORTRAN" (Exhibit, 1957-1982) International Business Machines Corporation Collection, Ms 1983-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1982 and prior to 1984.

Processing Information

This collection is unprocessed. Minimal description was completed prior to 2002 with minor additions in 2021.

Historical Note

Fortran is a programming language developed by John Backus and IBM in 1957. Pioneer Day was celebrated on June 9, 1982, at the National Computer Conference in honor of the 25th anniversary of the delivery of the first FORTRAN compiler. IBM created and displayed this exhibit at the celebration.

Scope and Content

This exhibit was created by IBM for the 25th anniversary of the programming language FORTRAN in 1982. Materials include photographs of FORTRAN pioneers, facsimiles of documents, textual analysis, flow charts, memorabilia, FORTRAN manuals and other publications, and a twelve-minute videotape on the history of FORTRAN starring the members of the original FORTRAN development team: John Backus, Sheldon Best, Richard Goldberg, Lois Mitchell Haibt, Harlan Herrick, Grace Mitchell, Robert Nelson, Roy Nutt, David Sayre, Peter Sheridan, and Irving Ziller.

Related Material

See also the John A. N. Lee Papers, Ms1973-005 . Lee was a professor of computer science at Virginia Tech interested in the history of computer programming and involved in the 25th anniversary of Fortran in 1982.

See also the George Grigg and John Carnochan Papers, Ms2017-006 , which relates to the use of FORTRAN at Virginia Tech in the 1960s-1970s.

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the "Twenty-Five Years of FORTRAN" (Exhibit, 1957-1982) International Business Machines Corporation Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).

Technical Access

The videotape is a standard 3/4" Sony U-matic cassette, and unfortuntely, we currently do not have the equipment necessary to play the tape.