50 years of computing at the University

Wednesday, 16 May 2012

computing 1960s style - The first computer at the University took up a whole room

It was in 1962 that the University of Reading took delivery of its very first computer - an Elliot 803. Dr Leonard Dresel, a Senior Lecturer in mathematics took receipt of the small, medium speed digital computer manufactured by the British company, Elliott Brothers, which took up a whole room in what was then the Physics Building.

Only about 250 Elliott 803s were built and most British universities and colleges bought one at a price of about £29,000. Only two of these computers survive today.

John Ogden who worked in the University's Computer Unit at that time recalls; "By today's standards this would have been an amazingly feeble machine, with paper tape input and output.

"In 1962 University computing was dominated by (relatively) large central mainframes serving the entire institution. The 803 was one such. It was provided by the Computer Board for Universities in Great Britain who allocated and procured the machine according to what they assessed to be local demand. It all felt rather paternalistic - but perhaps inevitable given the very limited knowledge of practical and technical aspects of computers in those days."

In 1967 a more powerful, Elliott 4103 was purchased in preparation for the introduction of computer science into the undergraduate curriculum. The University launched a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science in the late 1960s. This innovative move put Reading at the forefront of computer science.

As John Ogden explains; "Around this time computing was widely thought of as an academic curiosity. One noted academic authority delivered the opinion that the whole of the UK might need two perhaps three large computers in toto; the machines he had in mind were about as powerful as high-end PCs of today."

Evolution in computing over the intervening years and the advent of the PC, has led to exponential growth in the number of computers owned and with 17,000 students and 4,000 staff, it is now almost impossible to calculate how many computers there might be in the University today.