"Twenty-Five Years of FORTRAN" (Exhibit, 1957-1982) International Business Machines Corporation Collection
Scope and Content
This exhibit was created by IBM for the 25th anniversary of the programming language FORTRAN in 1982. Materials include photographs of FORTRAN pioneers, facsimiles of documents, textual analysis, flow charts, memorabilia, FORTRAN manuals and other publications, and a twelve-minute videotape on the history of FORTRAN starring the members of the original FORTRAN development team: John Backus, Sheldon Best, Richard Goldberg, Lois Mitchell Haibt, Harlan Herrick, Grace Mitchell, Robert Nelson, Roy Nutt, David Sayre, Peter Sheridan, and Irving Ziller.
Dates
- 1982
Creator
- International Business Machines Corporation (Organization)
- Lee, John A. N. (Person)
Language of Materials
The materials in the collection are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Condition Governing Reproduction and Use
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.
Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction. Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.
Historical Note
Fortran is a programming language developed by John Backus and IBM in 1957. Pioneer Day was celebrated on June 9, 1982, at the National Computer Conference in honor of the 25th anniversary of the delivery of the first FORTRAN compiler. IBM created and displayed this exhibit at the celebration.
Extent
5 Cubic Feet (5 boxes, 10 oversize items)
Abstract
Pioneer Day was celebrated on June 9, 1982, at the National Computer Conference in honor of the 25th anniversary of the delivery of the first FORTRAN compiler. As part of the celebration IBM created and displayed this exhibit. Materials include photographs of FORTRAN pioneers, facsimiles of documents, textual analysis, flow charts, memorabilia, FORTRAN manuals and other publications, and a twelve-minute videotape on the history of FORTRAN.
Technical Access
The videotape is a standard 3/4" Sony U-matic cassette, and unfortuntely, we currently do not have the equipment necessary to play the tape.
Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1982 and prior to 1984.
Separated Materials
Several publications have been separated to the Rare Book Collection.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
The guide to the "Twenty-Five Years of FORTRAN" (Exhibit, 1957-1982) International Business Machines Corporation Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).
Processing Information
This collection is unprocessed. Minimal description was completed prior to 2002 with minor additions in 2021.
- Title
- "Twenty-Five Years of FORTRAN" (Exhibit, 1957-1982) International Business Machines Corporation Collection, 1982
- Status
- Unprocessed
- Author
- Special Collections and University Archives Staff
- Date
- 2014 (CC0 1.0)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308
specref@vt.edu