Herman Heine Goldstine
Encyclopedia
Herman Heine Goldstine was a mathematician
and computer scientist
, who was one of the original developers of ENIAC
, the first of the modern electronic digital computers.
, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree Mathematics in 1933, a master's degree in 1934 and a PhD. in 1936. For three years he was a research assistant under Gilbert Ames Bliss
, an authority on the mathematical theory of exterior ballistics. In 1939 Goldstine began a teaching career at the University of Michigan
, until the United States
' entry into World War II
when he joined the Army. In 1941 he married Adele Katz
who was an ENIAC
programmer and wrote the technical description for ENIAC. He had a daughter and a son with Adele who died in 1964. Two years later he married Ellen Watson.
In retirement Goldstine became executive director of the American Philosophical Society
in Philadelphia between 1985 and 1997 where he was able to attract many prestigious visitors and speakers.
Goldstine died on June 16, 2004 at his home in Bryn Mawr
, Pennsylvania
after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease
. His death was announced by the Thomas J. Watson Research Center
in Yorktown Heights, New York
where a post-doctoral fellowship was renamed in his honor.
, Goldstine left the University of Michigan
where he was a professor in July, 1942 to enlist in the Army. He was commissioned a lieutenant
and worked as an ordnance mathematician calculating firing tables at the Ballistic Research Laboratory
(BRL) at Aberdeen Proving Ground
, Maryland
. The firing tables were used in battle to find the appropriate elevation
and azimuth for aiming artillery, which had a range of several miles.
The firing table calculations were accomplished by about one hundred women operating mechanical desk calculators. Each combination of gun, round and geographical region required a unique set of firing tables. It took about 750 calculations to compute a single trajectory and each table had about 3,000 trajectories. It took one of these people—known, ironically, as computers—about 12 days to compute one trajectory, and more than four years to compute a table. To increase production, BRL enlisted the computing facilities of the Moore School of Electrical Engineering
at the University of Pennsylvania
and Goldstine was the liaison between BRL and the university.
, a physics instructor at the Moore School, who had distributed a memorandum proposing that the calculations could be done thousands of times faster with an electronic computer using vacuum tubes. Mauchly wrote a proposal and in June 1943 he and Goldstine secured funding from the Army for the project. The ENIAC was built in 30 months with 200,000 man hours. The ENIAC was huge, measuring 30 by 60 feet and weighing 30 tons with 18,000 vacuum tubes. The device could only store 20 numbers and took days to program. It was completed in late 1945 as World War II
was coming to an end.
. Goldstine, Mauchly, J. Presper Eckert
and Arthur Burks
began to study the development of the new machine in the hopes of correcting the deficiencies of the ENIAC.
on a railway platform in Aberdeen
, Maryland
where Goldstine described his project at University of Pennsylvania. Unknown to Goldstine, von Neumann was working on the Manhattan Project
that was building the first atomic bomb. The calculations needed for this project were also daunting.
. Von Neumann intended this to be a memo to the study group, but Goldstine typed it up into a 101 page document that listed von Neumann as the sole author. On June 25, 1946, Goldstine forwarded 24 copies of the document to those intimately involved in the EDVAC project; dozens or perhaps hundreds of mimeographs of the report were forwarded to von Neumann's colleagues at universities in the U.S. and in England
in the weeks that followed. While incomplete, the paper was very well received and became a blueprint for building electronic digital computers. Due to von Neuman's prominence as a major American mathematician the EDVAC architecture became known as the von Neumann architecture
.
One of the key ideas was that the computer would store a program in its electronic memory rather than programming the computer using mechanical switches and patch cables. This, and other ideas in the paper had been discussed in the EDVAC study group before Von Neumann joined the group. The fact that Eckert and Mauchly, the actual inventors and designers of the ENIAC, were not listed as authors created resentment that led to the group's dissolution at the end of the war.
Eckert and Mauchly went on to form the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation
, a company that in part survives today as the Unisys
Corporation, while von Neumann, Goldstine and Burks went on to academic life at the Institute for Advanced Study
. In Summer 1946, all of them reunited to give presentations at the first computer course, which has come to be known as the Moore School Lectures
; Goldstine's presentations, given without notes, covered deeply and rigorously numerical mathematical methods useful in programs for digital computers.
Goldstine joined von Neumann and Burks at the Institute for Advanced Study
in Princeton
where they built a computer referred to as the IAS machine
. Goldstine was appointed assistant director of the project and director after 1954.
The IAS machine influenced the design of IBM
's early computers, through von Neumann who was a consultant to IBM. When von Neumann died in 1958, the IAS computer project terminated. Goldstine went on to become the founding director of the Mathematical Sciences Department at IBM's Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York.
, the company's most prestigious technical honor, and a consultant to the director of research. As a fellow Goldstine developed an interest in the history of computing and mathematical sciences. He wrote three books on the topic; The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann, History of Numerical Analysis from the 16th Through the 19th Century and History of the Calculus of Variations from the Seventeenth Through the Nineteenth Century. As the title implies, in The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann, Goldstine leaves little doubt that in his opinion von Neumann played a critical role in developing modern theories of computing.
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
, who was one of the original developers of ENIAC
ENIAC
ENIAC was the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a Turing-complete digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems....
, the first of the modern electronic digital computers.
Personal life
Herman Heine Goldstine was born in Chicago in 1913. He attended the University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree Mathematics in 1933, a master's degree in 1934 and a PhD. in 1936. For three years he was a research assistant under Gilbert Ames Bliss
Gilbert Ames Bliss
Gilbert Ames Bliss, , was an American mathematician, known for his work on the calculus of variations.-Life:...
, an authority on the mathematical theory of exterior ballistics. In 1939 Goldstine began a teaching career at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, until the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' entry into World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when he joined the Army. In 1941 he married Adele Katz
Adele Goldstine
Adele Goldstine , born Adele Katz, wrote the complete technical description for the first electronic digital computer, ENIAC...
who was an ENIAC
ENIAC
ENIAC was the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a Turing-complete digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems....
programmer and wrote the technical description for ENIAC. He had a daughter and a son with Adele who died in 1964. Two years later he married Ellen Watson.
In retirement Goldstine became executive director of the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
in Philadelphia between 1985 and 1997 where he was able to attract many prestigious visitors and speakers.
Goldstine died on June 16, 2004 at his home in Bryn Mawr
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Bryn Mawr from Welsh for "big hill") is a census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue and the border with Delaware County...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
. His death was announced by the Thomas J. Watson Research Center
Thomas J. Watson Research Center
The Thomas J. Watson Research Center is the headquarters for the IBM Research Division.The center is on three sites, with the main laboratory in Yorktown Heights, New York, 38 miles north of New York City, a building in Hawthorne, New York, and offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts.- Overview :The...
in Yorktown Heights, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where a post-doctoral fellowship was renamed in his honor.
BRL and the Moore School
As a result of the United States' entering World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Goldstine left the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
where he was a professor in July, 1942 to enlist in the Army. He was commissioned a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
and worked as an ordnance mathematician calculating firing tables at the Ballistic Research Laboratory
Ballistic Research Laboratory
The Ballistic Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland was the center for the United States Army's research efforts in ballistics and vulnerability/lethality analysis....
(BRL) at Aberdeen Proving Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground is a United States Army facility located near Aberdeen, Maryland, . Part of the facility is a census-designated place , which had a population of 3,116 at the 2000 census.- History :...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The firing tables were used in battle to find the appropriate elevation
Elevation (ballistics)
In ballistics, the elevation is the angle between the horizontal plane and the direction of the barrel of a gun, mortar or heavy artillery. Originally, elevation was a linear measure of how high the gunners had to physically lift the muzzle of a gun up from the gun carriage to hit targets at a...
and azimuth for aiming artillery, which had a range of several miles.
The firing table calculations were accomplished by about one hundred women operating mechanical desk calculators. Each combination of gun, round and geographical region required a unique set of firing tables. It took about 750 calculations to compute a single trajectory and each table had about 3,000 trajectories. It took one of these people—known, ironically, as computers—about 12 days to compute one trajectory, and more than four years to compute a table. To increase production, BRL enlisted the computing facilities of the Moore School of Electrical Engineering
Moore School of Electrical Engineering
The Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania came into existence as a result of an endowment from Alfred Fitler Moore on June 4, 1923. It was granted to Penn's School of Electrical Engineering, located in the Towne Building...
at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and Goldstine was the liaison between BRL and the university.
The ENIAC
While making some adjustments to the Moore School's differential analyzer, engineer Joseph Chapline suggested Goldstine visit John MauchlyJohn Mauchly
John William Mauchly was an American physicist who, along with J. Presper Eckert, designed ENIAC, the first general purpose electronic digital computer, as well as EDVAC, BINAC and UNIVAC I, the first commercial computer made in the United States.Together they started the first computer company,...
, a physics instructor at the Moore School, who had distributed a memorandum proposing that the calculations could be done thousands of times faster with an electronic computer using vacuum tubes. Mauchly wrote a proposal and in June 1943 he and Goldstine secured funding from the Army for the project. The ENIAC was built in 30 months with 200,000 man hours. The ENIAC was huge, measuring 30 by 60 feet and weighing 30 tons with 18,000 vacuum tubes. The device could only store 20 numbers and took days to program. It was completed in late 1945 as World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was coming to an end.
The EDVAC
In spite of disappointment that ENIAC had not contributed to the war effort, interest remained strong in the Army to develop an electronic computer. Prior even to the ENIAC's completion, the Army procured a second contract from the Moore School to build a successor machine known as the EDVACEDVAC
EDVAC was one of the earliest electronic computers. Unlike its predecessor the ENIAC, it was binary rather than decimal, and was a stored program computer....
. Goldstine, Mauchly, J. Presper Eckert
J. Presper Eckert
John Adam Presper "Pres" Eckert Jr. was an American electrical engineer and computer pioneer. With John Mauchly he invented the first general-purpose electronic digital computer , presented the first course in computing topics , founded the first commercial computer company , and...
and Arthur Burks
Arthur Burks
Arthur Walter Burks was an American mathematician who in the 1940s as a senior engineer on the project contributed to the design of the ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic digital computer. Decades later, Burks and his wife Alice Burks outlined their case for the subject matter of the...
began to study the development of the new machine in the hopes of correcting the deficiencies of the ENIAC.
Meeting von Neumann
In the summer of 1944 Goldstine had a chance encounter with the prominent mathematician John von NeumannJohn von Neumann
John von Neumann was a Hungarian-American mathematician and polymath who made major contributions to a vast number of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, geometry, fluid dynamics, economics and game theory, computer science, numerical analysis,...
on a railway platform in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
where Goldstine described his project at University of Pennsylvania. Unknown to Goldstine, von Neumann was working on the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
that was building the first atomic bomb. The calculations needed for this project were also daunting.
The First Draft
As a result of the conversations with Goldstine, von Neumann joined the study group and wrote a memo called First Draft of a Report on the EDVACFirst Draft of a Report on the EDVAC
The First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC was an incomplete 101-page document written by John von Neumann and distributed on June 30, 1945 by Herman Goldstine, security officer on the classified ENIAC project...
. Von Neumann intended this to be a memo to the study group, but Goldstine typed it up into a 101 page document that listed von Neumann as the sole author. On June 25, 1946, Goldstine forwarded 24 copies of the document to those intimately involved in the EDVAC project; dozens or perhaps hundreds of mimeographs of the report were forwarded to von Neumann's colleagues at universities in the U.S. and in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the weeks that followed. While incomplete, the paper was very well received and became a blueprint for building electronic digital computers. Due to von Neuman's prominence as a major American mathematician the EDVAC architecture became known as the von Neumann architecture
Von Neumann architecture
The term Von Neumann architecture, aka the Von Neumann model, derives from a computer architecture proposal by the mathematician and early computer scientist John von Neumann and others, dated June 30, 1945, entitled First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC...
.
One of the key ideas was that the computer would store a program in its electronic memory rather than programming the computer using mechanical switches and patch cables. This, and other ideas in the paper had been discussed in the EDVAC study group before Von Neumann joined the group. The fact that Eckert and Mauchly, the actual inventors and designers of the ENIAC, were not listed as authors created resentment that led to the group's dissolution at the end of the war.
Eckert and Mauchly went on to form the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation
Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation
The Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation was founded by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, and was incorporated on December 22, 1947. After building the ENIAC at the University of Pennsylvania, Eckert and Mauchly formed EMCC to build new computer designs for commercial and military applications...
, a company that in part survives today as the Unisys
Unisys
Unisys Corporation , headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States, and incorporated in Delaware, is a long established business whose core products now involves computing and networking.-History:...
Corporation, while von Neumann, Goldstine and Burks went on to academic life at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
. In Summer 1946, all of them reunited to give presentations at the first computer course, which has come to be known as the Moore School Lectures
Moore School Lectures
Theory and Techniques for Design of Electronic Digital Computers was a course in the construction of electronic digital computers held at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School of Electrical Engineering between July 8, 1946 and August 30, 1946, and was the first time any computer topics had...
; Goldstine's presentations, given without notes, covered deeply and rigorously numerical mathematical methods useful in programs for digital computers.
Institute for Advanced Study
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Goldstine joined von Neumann and Burks at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
in Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
where they built a computer referred to as the IAS machine
IAS machine
The IAS machine was the first electronic computer built by the Institute for Advanced Study , in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. It is sometimes called the von Neuman machine, since the paper describing its design was edited by John von Neumann, a mathematics professor at both Princeton University...
. Goldstine was appointed assistant director of the project and director after 1954.
The IAS machine influenced the design of IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
's early computers, through von Neumann who was a consultant to IBM. When von Neumann died in 1958, the IAS computer project terminated. Goldstine went on to become the founding director of the Mathematical Sciences Department at IBM's Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York.
IBM
At IBM one of Goldstine's most significant roles was in fostering relations between IBM researchers and the academic community. In 1969 he was appointed an IBM FellowIBM Fellow
An IBM Fellow is an appointed position at IBM made by IBM’s CEO. Typically only 4 to 9 IBM Fellows are appointed each year, at the annual Corporate Technical Recognition Event in May or June. It is the highest honor a scientist, engineer, or programmer at IBM can achieve.The IBM Fellows program...
, the company's most prestigious technical honor, and a consultant to the director of research. As a fellow Goldstine developed an interest in the history of computing and mathematical sciences. He wrote three books on the topic; The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann, History of Numerical Analysis from the 16th Through the 19th Century and History of the Calculus of Variations from the Seventeenth Through the Nineteenth Century. As the title implies, in The Computer from Pascal to von Neumann, Goldstine leaves little doubt that in his opinion von Neumann played a critical role in developing modern theories of computing.
Awards and honoraria
- Harry H. Goode Memorial Award in 1979
- National Medal of ScienceNational Medal of ScienceThe National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...
(1983) - Hall of Fame of the Army Ordnance Department (1997)
- Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences of the American Philosophical SocietyAmerican Philosophical SocietyThe American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
(1997). - IEEE Computer Society Pioneer Award (charter recipient)
- member of the National Academy of Science
- member of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
- member of the American Philosophical SocietyAmerican Philosophical SocietyThe American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
Publications
- Arthur W. (Arthur Walter) Burks, Herman Heine Goldstine, John Von Neumann; Preliminary Discussion of the Logical Design of an Electronic Computer Instrument; (Institute for Advanced Study, January 1, 1946) ASIN B0007HW8WE
External links
- Herman Goldstine, Who Helped Build First Computers, Dies at 90 (Wolfgang Saxon, New York Times, 26 June 2004)
- Oral history interviews with Herman H. Goldstine. Charles Babbage InstituteCharles Babbage InstituteThe Charles Babbage Institute is a research center at the University of Minnesota specializing in the history of information technology, particularly the history since 1935 of digital computing, programming/software, and computer networking....
, University of Minnesota. Goldstine discusses his experiences with the ENIACENIACENIAC was the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a Turing-complete digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems....
computer during World War II. He mentions the EDVACEDVACEDVAC was one of the earliest electronic computers. Unlike its predecessor the ENIAC, it was binary rather than decimal, and was a stored program computer....
, the ENIAC's successor, and its innovation of stored programming, for which he credits John von NeumannJohn von NeumannJohn von Neumann was a Hungarian-American mathematician and polymath who made major contributions to a vast number of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, geometry, fluid dynamics, economics and game theory, computer science, numerical analysis,...
. In the second interview, Goldstine recounts his work with von Neumann on the Institute for Advanced Study computer in the late 1940s and the funding by AEC officials, patent problems, as well as the many computers (Whirlwind, ILLIACILLIACILLIAC was a series of supercomputers built at a variety of locations, some at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In all, five computers were built in this series between 1951 and 1974...
, JOHNNIACJOHNNIACThe JOHNNIAC was an early computer built by RAND that was based on the von Neumann architecture that had been pioneered on the IAS machine. It was named in honor of von Neumann, short for John v. Neumann Numerical Integrator and Automatic Computer...
, IBM 701IBM 701The IBM 701, known as the Defense Calculator while in development, was announced to the public on April 29, 1952, and was IBM’s first commercial scientific computer...
) modeled after the IAS computer. - An interview with Goldstine about his experience at Princeton
- Herman Goldstine obituary
- Biographical memoir for American Philosophical Society
- IBM Research names mathematics fellowship for computer pioneer Herman Goldstine