AnnouncementsMemorial DayThe Special Collections Public Services Desk will be open by appointment only on Monday, May 27, 2013, in observance of Memorial Day. Please order materials by 5pm on Wednesday, May 22, 2013, to ensure delivery prior to the holiday. The Special Collections Public Services Desk will resume normal hours on Tuesday, May 28, at 8am. If you have any questions, please contact, via email, Gwynn Thayer or Eli Brown. MC 00268 Guide to the A. Wayne Brooke Collection, 1948 - 1986The papers are divided into eight series with a
bibliography appended. The
Correspondence series consists of letters from two periods of A. Wayne Brooke's involvement with the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator
(SSEC). The first is during the period in which he worked on the SSEC, and the second was when he was preparing a manuscript
detailing the importance of the SSEC to the history of computing.The
Writings series contains a draft of the unpublished manuscript detailing the importance of the SSEC to the history of computing. The
Research Notes series contains notes and charts that refer to documents in the Writings series. As well, it contains Brooke's IBM Engineer's
Notebook.The bulk of the collection belongs to the series on the
Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator. Contained in this series are oral interviews with the creators and staff of the SSEC, articles related to the electronic
calculator, and newspapers and magazines that make reference to the machine. There are also several folders of photographs
included in this series that depict the SSEC during its operation and the staff and later reunions. The series is organized
by material, and then chronologically within those parameters.Brooke also collected a wide variety of materials on the
History of Computing. This series contains materials similar to the SSEC series but which pertain to the wider issues of the early years of the
computing industry.The
Organizations series contains membership lists and other documents related to several computer and coin collecting groups attended by Brooke.The small
Miscellaneous series contains documents of various formats including a portrait of Brooke in his later years.
"Walk East on Beacon" , a 16 mm film, comprises the final series. It is most notable for this collection because it contains a scene that was filmed
on location in the SSEC operations room.
This small series of six folders consists of correspondence between
A. Wayne Brooke and various individuals connected to the SSEC project or the history of computers. It is arranged chronologically and refers
to particular periods in A. Wayne Brooke's connection to the
Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator (
SSEC). The first folder (1950 - 1952) consists of internal IBM correspondence while Brooke was the chief engineer for the SSEC
project. The next folder (1979 - 1980) refers to the unpublished manuscript "SSEC: The First Electronic Computer." The last
folder in this series (1986) consists of correspondence between Brooke and
Charles Bashe on issues directly related to the importance of the SSEC in the history of computing.
[Box
1,
Folder
1]
Correspondence,
1950 - 1952
[Box
1,
Folder
2]
Correspondence,
1979 - 1980
[Box
1,
Folder
3]
Correspondence,
1981
[Box
1,
Folder
4]
Correspondence,
1982
[Box
1,
Folder
5]
Correspondence,
1983 - 1984
[Box
1,
Folder
6]
Correspondence,
1986
This series contains both published and unpublished works by Brooke. The first folder contains a tear sheet from
"Electrical Engineering" entitled
"Electron Tube Experience in Computing Experiment" written by Brooke in
1952. The next two folders contain copies of the unpublished manuscript
"SSEC: The First Electronic Computer". The first is a clean copy while the second is heavily annotated by
Charles Bashe (see
Correspondence, 1982).
[Box
1,
Folder
7]
"Electron Tube Experience in Computing Equipment",
February, 1952
[Box
1,
Folder
8]
"SSEC, The First Electronic Computer" (1)
[Box
1,
Folder
9]
"SSEC, The First Electronic Computer" (2)
[Box
1,
Folder
10]
3 articles related to donations made to the
Computer Museum:
"Early Hollerith Tabulating Machine Counter"
"Mercury Wetter Contact Relays"
"IBM Wire Contact Relays"
[Box
1,
Folder
11]
"SSEC Tube Life",
1952
[Box
1,
Folder
11]
"Relay Life in the SSEC",
1952
[Box
1,
Folder
11]
"The Hallowed 'Stored-Program Concept'",
1984
[Box
1,
Folder
11]
"Pluggable Memory Unit",
undated
This series contains Brooke's
IBM
Engineer's Notebook as well as notes and charts that refer to documents in the
Writings series.
[Box
1,
Folder
12]
IBM Engineer's Notebook
[Box
1,
Folder
13]
Charts and notes for writings
"SSEC Tube Life",
1952
"Relay Life in the SSEC",
1952
[Box
1,
Folder
14]
Notes for the manuscript
"SSEC, The First Electronic Computer"
The largest series in the collection contains information related to the
Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator. Brooke intended to publish a manuscript detailing the importance of the
SSEC to the history of computing. Therefore, he collected both
IBM and general information related to the SSEC. The first section of the series (folders 15 through 28) contains transcripts
of oral interviews conducted by IBM with members of the SSEC staff. Two of the inventors of the SSEC,
Wallace J. Eckert and
Ron Seeber, appear in the collection. Several folders of published and unpublished IBM documents follow including the official announcement
of the opening of the SSEC on
January 28, 1948. The series also contains newspaper articles that refer to the SSEC or advertisements that feature the SSEC as a referent
or a backdrop. Finally, this series contains pictures of the SSEC while in operation and reunion photos with, presumably,
the original operating staff of the SSEC.
Oral History Interviews
[Box
1,
Folder
15]
Oral History Interview TC-1 (1):
Wallace J. Eckert
[Box
1,
Folder
16]
Oral History Interview TC-1 (2):
Wallace J. Eckert
[Box
1,
Folder
17]
Oral History Interview TC-1 (3):
Wallace J. Eckert
[Box
1,
Folder
18]
Oral History Interview TC-6:
Ken Clark
[Box
1,
Folder
19]
Oral History Interview TC-7 (1):
Steve Dunwell
[Box
2,
Folder
20]
Oral History Interview TC-7 (2):
Steve Dunwell
[Box
2,
Folder
21]
Oral History Interview TC-7 (3):
Steve Dunwell
[Box
2,
Folder
22]
Oral History Interview TC-7 (4):
Steve Dunwell
[Box
2,
Folder
23]
Oral History Interview TC-7 (5):
Steve Dunwell
[Box
2,
Folder
24]
Oral History Interview TC-8 (1):
Rex Seeber
[Box
2,
Folder
25]
Oral History Interview TC-8 (2):
Rex Seeber
[Box
2,
Folder
26]
Oral History Interview TC-9:
Frank Hamilton
[Box
2,
Folder
27]
Oral History Interview TC-30 (1):
Joe Jeenel
[Box
2,
Folder
28]
Oral History Interview TC-30 (2):
Joe Jeenel
Internal IBM Material
[Box
2,
Folder
31]
Opening of SSEC (1),
January 28, 1948
[Box
2,
Folder
32]
Opening of SSEC (2),
January 28, 1948
[Box
2,
Folder
33]
Unpublished documents
[Box
2,
Folder
34]
Published articles
[Box
2,
Folder
35]
Published articles
This small series contains information on the early history of computers both by
IBM and external sources. Newspaper articles and magazine articles, as well as scholarly articles, detail the technological origins
of the computer revolution.
[Box
3,
Folder
1]
Internal IBM articles
[Box
3,
Folder
2]
Published articles
[Box
3,
Folder
3]
"Astounding Science Fiction" articles
"Modern Calculators"
"Electrical Mathematics"
[Box
3,
Folder
4]
Newspaper articles
[Box
3,
Folder
5]
Magazine articles
[Box
3,
Folder
6]
Miscellaneous technological information
Brooke belonged to several computer clubs, as well as the
Raleigh Coin Club. The first folder contains the minutes to the
Raleigh Personal Computer Club meeting of
March, 1986, at which Brooke presented a paper.
[Box
3,
Folder
7]
Conference on Electron Tubes for Computers,
1950
[Box
3,
Folder
8]
Digital Computer Museum,
1984
[Box
3,
Folder
9]
Raleigh Personal Computing Club,
1986
[Box
3,
Folder
10]
Raleigh Coin Club,
1987
This one-folder series contains an alumni article from
Case Western Technological Institute concerning Brooke while he was employed on the
SSEC, the film description of
"Walk East on Beacon", and a portrait of Brooke.
[Box
3,
Folder
11]
IBM Punch card
[Box
3,
Folder
11]
"A Different Kind of Multiplication"
[Box
3,
Folder
11]
Case Western Alumnae article
[Box
3,
Folder
11]
Portrait of A. Wayne Brooke
[Box
3,
Folder
11]
"Walk East on Beacon" film description
[Reel
1]
"Walk East on Beacon"
"Walk East on Beacon", a 16 mm film, produced in conjunction with the
FBI, has a scene filmed on location in the SSEC operations room and in which Brooke appears as an extra. The film is based on
a short story by
J. Edgar Hoover entitled
"The Crime of the Century". In the film, Professor Kafer uses a high-speed calculator (the SSEC) to develop complicated theories that will affect the
future of war. The original operating staff of the SSEC, including Brooke, appear as extras in one scene.
CreatorBrooke, A. Wayne Quantity3.75 Linear feet General Physical Description note3 archival boxes LocationFor current information on the location of these materials, please consult the
Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff LanguageEnglish Immediate Source of Acquisition noteDonated by Thomas Brooke, 1999 Acquisitions InformationDonated by Thomas Brooke, 1999. ProcessingProcessed by: William Wisser; machine-readable finding aid created by: Katherine M. Wisser Scope and Content NoteThis collection includes correspondence, writings, research notes, publications (by A. Wayne Brooke and others), photographs, and bound volumes. The primary subject of Brooke's papers refers to the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator ( SSEC) and the history of computing. Brooke was intrinsically involved with the daily operations of the SSEC during its short period of operation (1948 - 1952) and revisited the subject in the 1980s when the SSEC became a popular topic of debate in the computer industry. Biographical NoteA. Wayne Brooke was born April 20, 1913 and died January 2, 1996. He graduated from Case Western Institute of Technology in 1935 with a Bachelor's of Science in Physics. He served in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1946 as an electronics officer. Brooke joined IBM soon after the war, and his early career at IBM was wholly involved with the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator ( SSEC) in the world headquarters of IBM in New York City. Brooke was the chief electronic engineer for the project and oversaw a team of engineers during the short life of the SSEC. He transferred to the Raleigh, N.C. IBM office in 1965 after the SSEC was dismantled and retired from IBM after 40 years of service in 1978. He remained involved in the history of computers throughout his life and was a member of various community organizations in the Raleigh area, including the North Carolina Arboretum, Raleigh Coin Club, Raleigh Stamp Club, and the Men's Garden Club. The SSEC was invented by Wallace J. Eckert, Thomas Watson, and Ron Seeber and installed in IBM's world headquarters on Madison Avenue in New York City. The first day of operation of the SSEC was January 28, 1948, and it was shut down and dismantled in August, 1952. It contained 23,000 relays and 13,000 vacuum tubes, and at the time it was 1,000 times faster than its closest rival. It multiplied 14 decimal digit numbers in 20 milliseconds, and its first assignment was to calculate the positions of the moon from 1952 to 1971. By 1952, the SSEC was outdated by several new computers and was replaced by the IBM 701. It has been argued, by Brooke in particular, that the SSEC was the "first" electronic computer because of its unique stored-memory capacity. Controlled TermsAccess to CollectionThis collection is open for research; access requires at least 24 hours advance notice. For more information contact us via mail, phone, fax, or our web form. Special Collections Research Center Telephone(919) 515-2273 Fax(919) 513-1787 Preferred Citation[Identification of Item], A. Wayne Brooke Papers, MC 268, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, North Carolina. Access to CollectionNorth Carolina State University does not own copyright to this collection. Individuals obtaining materials from the NCSU Libraries' Special Collections Research Center are responsible for using the works in conformance with United States copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials. |
