Computer prehistory and history in central Europe

ABSTRACT

An excursion is made into the history and prehistory of computers with special attention to Central Europe. Three historic periods are examined. The period of programmed automata is rich in the development of programmed clocks and musical instruments beginning in the 14th century and continuing through the 18th century. The period of programmed weaving to punched cards ranges from the Jacquard loom to the Hollerith card. It can be noted that the Jacquard card and the Hollerith card are the same width. Predecessors of Jacquard can be found in Austria as early as 1680 or 1690. The Hollerith card was used in census of 1890 in Austria, a fact not as well known as its use in the United States census of 1890. The story of Otto Schaeffler, the engineer who produced the equipment for the Austrian census, is a fascinating one. The third period is the period of programmed calculation. The computer is the product of two streams of development, calculating devices and programmed calculation, and contributions from Central Europe are prominent in both streams. Among the names which must be included are those of Petzval, Boltzman, Goedel, Morgenstern and Von Neumann. Attention is called to two contributions from the author's laboratories, namely, the 1954 fully transistorized computer, "Mailufterl," and the "Vienna Definition Language."