When Computers Were Human (65 page)

46
. Dates unknown; she took her BA in 1927; Colorado College Library Special Collections; Davis, H. T.,
Tables of the Higher Mathematical Functions
, p. 193.

47
. Cowles, A., “Can Stock Market Forecasters Forecast?” (1933).

48
. Davis, H. T.,
Adventures of an Ultra-Crepidarian
, p. 302; Christ,
History of the Cowles Commission
, p. 4; Elizabeth Webb Wilson Scrapbooks, vol. 3, p. 40, WILSON PAPERS.

49
. Christ,
History of the Cowles Commission
, p. 10.

50
. Elizabeth Webb Wilson Scrapbooks, vol. 3, p. 40, WILSON PAPERS.

51
. “Boston Woman Is Rated Insurance Expert Deluxe.” See also Wilson,
Compulsory Health Insurance
.

52
. Veblen, T.,
The Higher Learning in America
(1918), p. 124.

53
. Feffer, “Oswald Veblen.”

54
. Rodgers,
Think
, p. 134.

55
. Pugh,
Building IBM
(1995), pp. 34–45.

56
. Rodgers,
Think
, p. 135.

57
. Benjamin Wood, interview by Henry Tropp, p. 1, SMITHSONIAN.

58
. In his Smithsonian interview, Wood quotes Watson as saying that IBM had no installations in government offices before 1928 (ibid., p. 32), yet Wood clearly had Watson's attention.

59
. Benjamin Wood, interview by Henry Tropp, p. 6, SMITHSONIAN.

60
. Watson and Petre,
Father and Son and Company
, p. 37.

61
. Benjamin Wood, interview by Henry Tropp, p. 11, SMITHSONIAN.

62
. Watson and Petre,
Father and Son and Company
, p. 37.

63
. Benjamin Wood, interview by Henry Tropp, p. 12, SMITHSONIAN.

64
. Brennan,
The IBM Watson Laboratory
, p. 141.

65
. Benjamin Wood, interview by Henry Tropp, p. 12, SMITHSONIAN.

66
. Brown, E. W.,
The Motion of the Moon
.

67
. Comrie, L. J., “The Application of the Hollerith Tabulating Machine” (1932).

68
. L. J. Comrie to Wallace J. Eckert, May 1, 1935, box 1.2, ECKERT. Strictly speaking, Comrie was using cards produced by the British Tabulating Machine Company, a firm that had IBM investment and had licensed IBM technology.

69
. Eckert, “Astronomy” (1935); Comrie, L. J., “The Application of the Hollerith Tabulating Machine.”

70
.
Eckert, “Astronomy.”

71
. Wallace J. Eckert to G. W. Baehne, January 9, 1934, box 1.2, ECKERT.

72
. Baehne,
Practical Applications of the Punched Card Method
, preface.

73
. Eckert, “Astronomy.”

74
. Brennan,
The IBM Watson Laboratory
, p. 9.

75
. Grier, “The First Breach of Computer Security?” (2001). Numerov's death is described in P. G. Kulikousky, “Boris Numerov,”
Dictionary of Scientific Biography
, ed. Charles Gillespie, New York, Scribners, 1974, pp. 158–60.

76
. Eckert,
Punched Card Methods
(1940), p. 1.

77
. Report on Annual Meeting of Board of Managers of Thomas J. Watson Astronomical Computing Bureau, April 27, 1940, ECKERT.

78
. Henry Reitz to F. K. Richtmyer, February 19, 1934, Correspondence 1934–36, NRC-MTAC.

79
. H. L. Reitz to F. K. Richtmyer, March 23, 1934, Correspondence 1934–36, NRC-MTAC.

80
. U.S. Army,
Ballisticians in War and Peace
, p. 11; Aberdeen Proving Ground, Annual Reports for 1933–37.

81
. U.S. Army,
Ballisticians in War and Peace
, p. 11.

82
. R. A. Millikan to H. T. Davis, June 24, 1936, Correspondence 1934–36, NRC-MTAC.

83
. L. J. Comrie to Robert Millikan, July 28, 1936, Correspondence 1937–39, NRC-MTAC.

84
. A. A. Bennett to Henry Barton, October 10, 1936, Correspondence 1937–39, NRC-MTAC.

85
. Croarken, “Case 5,656” (1999); see also Wilkins, “The History of H.M. Nautical Almanac Office,” p. 59.

86
. Croarken, “Case 5,656” (1999).

87
. Ibid.

88
. Comrie, “Scientific Computing Service Limited,” pp. 1–3.

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTEEN

S
CIENTIFIC
R
ELIEF

1
.
Polk's Washington (District of Columbia) City Directory
, Richmond, Va., R. L. Polk, 1936; “Malcolm Morrow.”

2
. When organized in 1935, the agency was originally called the Works Progress Administration. The Emergency Relief Act of 1939 changed its name to Work Projects Administration. To avoid confusion, this book will use the latter name throughout.

3
. Bancroft, “Statistical Laboratory of the Iowa State University” (1966); Dedicatory Plaque, George Snedecor Hall, Iowa State University.

4
. U.S. Federal Works Agency,
Final Report
, p. 65.

5
. Works Progress Administration,
Index
, projects 3895, 3896, p. 13.

6
. Ibid., p. iv.

7
. Ibid., project 4273, p. 60.

8
.
“WPA Will Add 350,000 to Rolls.”

9
. Office Memorandum No. 433, October 21, 1937, SAB.

10
. Ibid.

11
. Lee,
To Kill a Mockingbird
, p. 250.

12
. Paul Brockett to Frank Lillie, October 21, 1937, SAB.

13
. Frank Lillie to Emerson Ross, October 29, 1937, SAB.

14
. Office Memorandum No. 433, October 21, 1937, SAB.

15
. Ibid.

16
. Ickes,
Secret Diary of Harold Ickes
, p. 233; Kessner,
Fiorello H. La Guardia
, p. 418.

17
. Office Memorandum No. 433, October 21, 1937, SAB.

18
. Paul Brockett to Frank Lillie, November 6, 1937, SAB.

19
. Paul Brockett to Frank Lillie, November 1, 1937, SAB.

20
. Summary of Meeting, January 28, 1938, BRIGGS.

21
. Lyman Briggs to the Secretary of Commerce, November 7, 1934, BRIGGS.

22
. Civil Works Administration Projects folder #680, box 46, NBS.

23
. Cochrane,
Measures for Progress
(1966), p. 332.

24
. Paul Brockett to Frank Lillie, November 16, 1937, SAB.

25
. “Lowan Information Sheet,” LOWAN.

26
. Snyder-Grenier,
Brooklyn
, p. 258.

27
. Lowan WPA Employment Form, MTP WPA.

28
. George Pegram to Oswald Veblen, June 13, 1933, LOWAN.

29
. Arnold Lowan Biographical Record Form, LOWAN.

30
. Ida Rhodes to Uta Merzbach, November 4, 1969, NMAH.

31
. Gertrude Blanch, interview by Henry Thatcher in San Diego, March 17, 1989, STERN.

32
. Howe,
World of Our Fathers
, p. 131.

33
. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service Certificate, March 16, 1966, STERN.

34
. Gertrude Blanch, interview with Michael Stern, approximately 1989, STERN.

35
. Blanch's library included Bennett,
Corporation Accounting
, New York, Ronald Press, 1919; Rosenthal,
Technical Procedure in Exporting and Importing
, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1922; and Mills,
Statistical Methods
, New York, Holt, 1924 (card file of book collection, STERN).

36
. Transcript of Gittel Kaimowitz, BLANCH NYU.

37
. Rossiter,
Women Scientists in America
, p. 173.

38
. Hardy,
A Mathematician's Apology
, p. 70.

39
. Director FBI to Assistant Attorney General, May 17, 1956, BLANCH FBI.

40
. Order of King's County Court for Gittel Kaimowitz, February 9, 1932, STERN.

41
. Gertrude Blanch, interview with Michael Stern, approximately 1989, STERN.

42
. Gertrude Blanch, interview by Henry Thatcher in San Diego, March 17, 1989, STERN.

43
. Ibid.

44
.
Blanch,
Properties of the Veneroni Transformation
(1934), p. i.

45
. Records of the Alpha Chapter of Sigma Delta Epsilon, 1930–40, CORNELL.

46
. Blanch,
Properties of the Veneroni Transformation
(1934), p. i.

47
. “Field Mathematician Gets Top Job Rating.”

48
. Hazel Ellenwood to Gertrude Blanch, February 26, 1937, CORNELL.

49
. Gertrude Blanch, interview with Michael Stern, approximately 1989, STERN.

50
. Gertrude Blanch, interview by Henry Thatcher in San Diego, March 17, 1989, STERN.

51
. Gertrude Blanch, interview with Michael Stern, approximately 1989, STERN.

52
. Gertrude Blanch, interview by Henry Thatcher in San Diego, March 17, 1989, STERN.

53
. Gertrude Blanch, interview by Henry Tropp, May 16, 1973, SMITHSONIAN.

54
. Barlow,
Barlow's Tables
.

55
. Mathematical Tables Project,
Tables of the Exponential Function
(1939).

56
. Ibid., pp. 50–51.

57
. Report of Meeting, January 28, 1938, BRIGGS.

58
. Minutes of the Executive Committee of the Division of Physical Sciences, April 1, 1938, NAS.

59
. U.S. Federal Works Agency,
Final Report
, p. 41.

60
. Gertrude Blanch, interview with Henry Tropp, May 16, 1973, SMITHSONIAN.

61
. Gertrude Blanch, interview by Henry Thatcher in San Diego, March 17, 1989, STERN.

62
. Ida Rhodes to Uta Merzbach, November 4, 1969, NMAH.

63
. Grier, “The Math Tables Project” (1998).

64
. Slutz, “Memories of the Bureau of Standards SEAC.”

65
. Abraham Hillman, interview with the author, February 1996.

66
. David Stern, interview with the author, January 2002.

67
. Abraham Hillman, interview with the author, February 1996.

68
. Gertrude Blanch, interview with Michael Stern, approximately 1989, STERN.

69
. Gertrude Blanch, interview with Henry Tropp, May 16, 1973, SMITHSONIAN.

70
. Weekly Report of the Mathematical Tables Project for September 15, 1941, MTP WPA.

71
. Fletcher et al.,
An Index of Mathematical Tables
, p. 881.

72
. Blanch and Rhodes, “Table-Making at the National Bureau of Standards.”

73
. The procedure for reauthorizing is described in Office Memorandum No. 433, October 21, 1937, SAB.

74
. The most complete series of this correspondence is found in Lowan Correspondence, 1940, box 13, Records Relating to Computing, NBS.

75
. Lyman Briggs to Arnold Lowan, June 28, 1939, BRIGGS.

76
. Arnold Lowan to Lyman Briggs, June 28, 1939, and Lyman Briggs to Arnold Lowan, July 27, 1939, BRIGGS.

77
.
John von Neumann to Arnold Lowan, September 19, 1940, NEUMANN.

78
. Phil Morse to Arnold Lowan, September 21, 1938, W.P.A. Math Table Files, MORSE.

79
. Arnold Lowan to Phil Morse, September 28, 1938, W.P.A. Math Table Files, MORSE.

80
. Phil Morse to Arnold Lowan, October 18, 1938, W.P.A. Math Table Files, MORSE.

81
. Howard,
The WPA and Federal Relief Policy
, p. 278.

82
. Bethe and Critchfield, “The Formation of Deuterons by Proton Combination”; Bethe, “Energy Production in Stars.”

83
. Blanch et al., “The Internal Temperature Density Distribution of the Sun” (1942).

84
. Hans Bethe to Arnold Lowan, February 14, 1939, MTP AMP.

85
. Hans Bethe quoted in Bernstein, “Profiles (Hans Bethe Part I).”

86
. Hans Bethe to Arnold Lowan, January 17, 1940, Bethe File, Records Relating to Computing, NBS.

87
. Curtiss, “
Tables of the First Ten Powers of the Integers from 1 to 1000; Tables of the Exponential Function e
^x
” (1941).

C
HAPTER
F
OURTEEN

T
OOLS OF THE
T
RADE

1
. Lowan's letters regularly mention his search for calculators. See, for example, Lyman Briggs to Arnold Lowan, November 25, 1940, BRIGGS.

2
. Ida Rhodes to Uta Merzbach, NMAH.

3
. Interview of Gertrude Blanch with Henry Tropp, May 16, 1973, SMITHSONIAN.

4
. Bulletin of Iowa State College for 1934–35, p. 326.

5
.
American Men of Science
, 11th ed., New York, Bowker, 1965.

6
. Stibitz, “Computer” (1940).

7
. Kruger, “A Slide Rule for Vector Calculations.”

8
. Millman,
A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System
, pp. 27–28; Fry, “Industrial Mathematics” (1941).

9
. Stibitz, “Early Computers” (1980).

10
. Notes of January 19, 1938, Research Case 20878, Reel FC-4618, ATT.

11
. Stibitz, “Computer.”

12
. Andrews, E. C., “Telephone Switching and the Early Bell Laboratories Computers” (1982).

13
. Stibitz, “Early Computers.”

14
. Irvine, “Early Digital Computers at Bell Telephone Laboratories.”

15
. See Iowa State College Budget for 1937–38, ISU-ADMIN; “Statement on Statistics,” Statistics 1945 File, Records of the Vice p. resident for Research, ISU-ADMIN.