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Colossus
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Colossus was a set of computers developed by British codebreakers between 1943 and 1945 to help cryptanalyze the Lorenz cipher. Designed by the General Post Office research telephone engineer Tommy Flowers, the prototype Colossus Mark 1 was working by December 1943 and in use at Bletchley Park by early 1944. It is regarded as the world's first programmable electronic digital computer, yet its existence was kept secret until the mid 1970s, which is why the machines that came after it claimed firsts in public that Colossus had already reached in silence.
Facts
YearThe prototype Colossus Mark 1 was working by December 1943 and in use at Bletchley Park by early 1944. SignificanceRegarded as the world's first programmable electronic digital computer; it was special purpose and secret until the mid 1970s, which shaped the public priority claims of later machines. 1 Regarded as first programmable and electronic and digital; the separate first general purpose title is ENIAC's contested claim, recorded on that entity as debated. Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Colossus Computer
Wikimedia FoundationPurpose and Origins, Design and Construction, Influence and Fate sectionsQuote, Purpose and Origins, Design and Construction, Influence and Fate sections
Colossus was a set of computers developed by British codebreakers in the years 1943-1945 to help in the cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher.
1. Wikipedia: Colossus Computer
Wikimedia FoundationInfluence and Fate sectionQuote, Influence and Fate section
Colossus is regarded as the world's first programmable, electronic, digital computer.
1. Wikipedia: Colossus Computer
Wikimedia FoundationDesign and Construction sectionQuote, Design and Construction section
The prototype, Colossus Mark 1, was working by December 1943 and was in use at Bletchley Park by early 1944.
Wikipedia: Tommy Flowers
Wikimedia FoundationInvented By: Tommy Flowers, IntroductionQuote, Invented By: Tommy Flowers, Introduction
During World War II, Flowers designed and built Colossus, the world's first programmable electronic computer, to help decipher encrypted German messages.
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