Tom Kilburn
Encyclopedia
Tom Kilburn CBE
, FRS
(11 August 1921 – 17 January 2001) was an English engineer
. With Freddie Williams
he worked on the Williams Tube
and the world's first stored-program computer
, the Small-Scale Experimental Machine
(SSEM), while working at the University of Manchester
.
, Yorkshire
and graduated in mathematics
from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
, pursuing a course compressed to two years following the outbreak of World War II
. On graduation, he was recruited by C.P. Snow for unspecified secret work and found himself on a crash course in electronics
before being posted to the Telecommunications Research Establishment
in Malvern
to work on radar
under F.C. Williams
. In 1943 he married Irene Marsden and the couple went on to raise a son and a daughter.
Kilburn's wartime work inspired his enthusiasm for some form of electronic computer
. The principal technical barrier to such a development at that time was the lack of any practical means of storage
for data and instructions. Kilburn and Williams collaboratively developed a storage device based on a cathode ray tube
and capable of storing a single bit
. A patent
was filed in 1946.
In December 1946, Williams took up the chair of electrotechnics at Manchester and recruited Kilburn on secondment from Malvern. The two developed their storage technology and, in 1948, Kilburn put it to a practical test in constructing the Small-Scale Experimental Machine
which became the first stored-program computer
to run a program
, on 21 June 1948.
Kilburn received the degree of Ph.D.
for his work at Manchester and had then anticipated a return to Malvern. However, Williams persuaded him to stay to work on the university's collaborative project developing the Ferranti Mark 1, the world's first commercial computer. Over the next three decades, Kilburn led the development of a succession of innovative Manchester computers including Atlas
and MU5.
, Kilburn was instrumental in forming the Department of Computer Science
in 1964, becoming the first head of the department, and served as Dean
of the Faculty of Science (1970–1972) and pro-vice-chancellor of the university (1976–1979). He retired in 1981.
but was always back in time for Manchester United F.C.
's first match of the football season.
He died in Manchester
of pneumonia
following abdominal
surgery
.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
, FRS
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
(11 August 1921 – 17 January 2001) was an English engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
. With Freddie Williams
Frederic Calland Williams
Sir Frederic Calland Williams CBE, FRS , known as 'Freddie Williams', was an English engineer....
he worked on the Williams Tube
Williams tube
The Williams tube or the Williams-Kilburn tube , developed in about 1946 or 1947, was a cathode ray tube used to electronically store binary data....
and the world's first stored-program computer
Stored-program computer
A stored-program computer is one which stores program instructions in electronic memory. Often the definition is extended with the requirement that the treatment of programs and data in memory be interchangeable or uniform....
, the Small-Scale Experimental Machine
Small-Scale Experimental Machine
The Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine , nicknamed Baby, was the world's first stored-program computer. It was built at the Victoria University of Manchester by Frederic C...
(SSEM), while working at the University of Manchester
Victoria University of Manchester
The Victoria University of Manchester was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".-1851 - 1951:The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College,...
.
Computer engineering
Kilburn was born in DewsburyDewsbury
Dewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and graduated in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England.The college was founded in 1596 and named after its foundress, Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex. It was from its inception an avowedly Puritan foundation: some good and godlie moniment for the mainteynance...
, pursuing a course compressed to two years following the outbreak of 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...
. On graduation, he was recruited by C.P. Snow for unspecified secret work and found himself on a crash course in electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
before being posted to the Telecommunications Research Establishment
Telecommunications Research Establishment
The Telecommunications Research Establishment was the main United Kingdom research and development organization for radio navigation, radar, infra-red detection for heat seeking missiles, and related work for the Royal Air Force during World War II and the years that followed. The name was...
in Malvern
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
to work on radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
under F.C. Williams
Frederic Calland Williams
Sir Frederic Calland Williams CBE, FRS , known as 'Freddie Williams', was an English engineer....
. In 1943 he married Irene Marsden and the couple went on to raise a son and a daughter.
Kilburn's wartime work inspired his enthusiasm for some form of electronic computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
. The principal technical barrier to such a development at that time was the lack of any practical means of storage
Computer storage
Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to computer components and recording media that retain digital data. Data storage is one of the core functions and fundamental components of computers....
for data and instructions. Kilburn and Williams collaboratively developed a storage device based on a cathode ray tube
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
and capable of storing a single bit
Bit
A bit is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications; it is the amount of information stored by a digital device or other physical system that exists in one of two possible distinct states...
. A patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
was filed in 1946.
In December 1946, Williams took up the chair of electrotechnics at Manchester and recruited Kilburn on secondment from Malvern. The two developed their storage technology and, in 1948, Kilburn put it to a practical test in constructing the Small-Scale Experimental Machine
Small-Scale Experimental Machine
The Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine , nicknamed Baby, was the world's first stored-program computer. It was built at the Victoria University of Manchester by Frederic C...
which became the first stored-program computer
Stored-program computer
A stored-program computer is one which stores program instructions in electronic memory. Often the definition is extended with the requirement that the treatment of programs and data in memory be interchangeable or uniform....
to run a program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
, on 21 June 1948.
Kilburn received the degree of Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
for his work at Manchester and had then anticipated a return to Malvern. However, Williams persuaded him to stay to work on the university's collaborative project developing the Ferranti Mark 1, the world's first commercial computer. Over the next three decades, Kilburn led the development of a succession of innovative Manchester computers including Atlas
Atlas Computer (Manchester)
The Atlas Computer was a joint development between the University of Manchester, Ferranti, and Plessey. The first Atlas, installed at Manchester University and officially commissioned in 1962, was one of the world's first supercomputers, considered to be the most powerful computer in the world at...
and MU5.
Administration
During his career at the University of ManchesterVictoria University of Manchester
The Victoria University of Manchester was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".-1851 - 1951:The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College,...
, Kilburn was instrumental in forming the Department of Computer Science
Manchester University School of Computer Science
The School of Computer Science at the University of Manchester is the academic department providing the focus for teaching and research in Computer Science. The school has its roots in the Computer Group of the Electrical Engineering Department at the Victoria University of Manchester...
in 1964, becoming the first head of the department, and served as Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the Faculty of Science (1970–1972) and pro-vice-chancellor of the university (1976–1979). He retired in 1981.
Personal
Kilburn habitually holidayed with his family in BlackpoolBlackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
but was always back in time for Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
's first match of the football season.
He died in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
following abdominal
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
.
Honours
- Fellow of the Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, (1965) - IEEE Computer Society W. Wallace McDowell AwardMcDowell AwardThe W. Wallace McDowell Award is awarded by the IEEE Computer Society for outstanding recent theoretical, design, educational, practical, or other similar innovative contributions that fall within the scope of Computer Society interest...
, (1971) - CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, (1973) - British Computer SocietyBritish Computer SocietyThe British Computer Society, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in Information Technology in the United Kingdom and internationally...
IT Award, (1973) - Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer SocietyDFBCSDFBCS is an abbreviation for Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society .From time to time, BCS considers the award of a Distinguished Fellowship to members of the computing profession who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of computing.The Distinguished Fellowship...
, (1974) - Royal MedalRoyal MedalThe Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal, is a silver-gilt medal awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge" and one for "distinguished contributions in the applied sciences" made within the Commonwealth of...
of the Royal Society, (1978) - IEEE Computer Society Computer Pioneer Award, (1982)
- Eckert-Mauchly AwardEckert-Mauchly AwardThe Eckert–Mauchly Award recognizes contributions to digital systems and computer architecture. First awarded in 1979, it was named for John Presper Eckert and John William Mauchly, who between 1943 and 1946 collaborated on the design and construction of the first large scale electronic computing...
, (1983) - Mountbatten MedalMountbatten MedalThe Mountbatten Medal is awarded annually for an outstanding contribution, or contributions over a period, to the promotion of electronics or information technology and their application....
, (1997) - Fellow of the Computer History MuseumComputer History MuseumThe Computer History Museum is a museum established in 1996 in Mountain View, California, USA. The Museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting the stories and artifacts of the information age, and exploring the computing revolution and its impact on our lives.-History:The museum's origins...
, (2000) - A building at The University of Manchester, which houses the School of Computer Science, is named "The Kilburn Building".
External links
- Tom Kilburn Biography (1921–2001)
- Tom Kilburn Obituary:Independent
- Oral history interview with Tom Kilburn, 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