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Title:
William H. Meek collection
Identifier/Call Number: X4708.2008
Contributing Institution:
Computer History Museum
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
5.34 Linear feet
1 record carton, 1 manuscript box, 2 oversize boxes, 2 small boxes
Date (inclusive): 1944-1983
Abstract: The William H. Meek collection contains manuals, publications, promotional material, correspondence, and programming projects
from 1944 through 1983 that document Meek's interests in computers, mechanical engineering, and the interlocking six-piece
Burr puzzle. Meek was an instrumentation specialist at Dow Chemical Company into the mid-1960s, but he spent most of his life
researching, evaluating, and acquiring early computer systems. He was greatly interested in analyzing the mechanics behind
Burr puzzles and wrote his own computer programs to aid in his analysis. This collection is made up largely of manuals and
technical information regarding the IBM System/3, and programming source code and tests in various early programming languages.
creator:
Meek, William H., 1917-2005
The collection is open for research.
The Computer History Museum (CHM) can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying
any claims of the copyright holder. Requests for copying and permission to publish, quote, or reproduce any portion of the
Computer History Museum's collection must be obtained jointly from both the copyright holder (if applicable) and the Computer
History Museum.
[Identification of Item], [Date], William H. Meek collection, Lot X4708.2008, Box [#], Folder [#], Catalog [#], Computer History
Museum.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Phyllis Meek, 2008.
William H. Meek was born in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, on June 2, 1917. He received his BA from Wayne State University in
Detroit, Michigan, and a master's degree from the University of Michigan. Meek first worked as a paint chemist for Ditzler
Paints in Ann Arbor, Michigan. During World War II he joined the United States Navy and worked as a radar technician on the
USS Newcomb from 1941 through 1945. After the war, Meek began a long career at Dow Chemical Company as an instrumentation
specialist — designing, building, and repairing equipment for testing products sold by the company. He worked in the Technical
Service & Development (TS&D) department at Dow's office in Midland, Michigan, for over 25 years, retiring in the mid 1960s.
Meek's main interests included computers, mechanical engineering, and puzzles. He was especially interested in the mathematics
and design behind six-piece Burr puzzles, interlocking structures made up of six notched sticks that combined to make three-dimensional
shapes. In order to analyze the mechanics of all of the different combinations and assemblies of these puzzles, Meek wrote
his own programs in Fortran, BASIC, and various IBM programming languages and used early computing technologies to run these
programs — including the computer used for payroll at Dow. After retiring, Meek collected and used other computers. He bought
one of the initial models of Radio Shack's TRS-80 Micro Computer Systems, a series of IBM and IBM-compatible micro-computers,
and when he received word from his old colleagues at Dow that the company was retiring its IBM System/3 computers, he arranged
to acquire those as well. Meek passed away on June 10, 2005.
Scope and Content of the Collection
The William H. Meek collection contains IBM manuals, publications, promotional materials from various computing companies,
and Meek's correspondence and programming projects. The collection spans 1944 through 1983 with the bulk of the collection
being from 1960 to 1978 during Meek's final years working for Dow Chemical Company and his early years of retirement. Of particular
interest is a folder of correspondence and reports documenting one of Meek's projects at Dow for the establishment of a central
computer at Dow's office in Midland, Michigan. This project involved a selection process requiring significant research and
consulting with early computer manufacturers, mainly IBM, General Electric, and Scientific Data Systems. The collection includes
a significant amount of manuals and technical information regarding the IBM System/3 and programming source code and tests
in various early programming languages.
The collection is arranged into 3 series:
Series 1, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) manuals, 1965-1982
Series 2, Non-IBM publications and promotional materials, 1944-1983
Series 3, Personal papers, ca. 1958-1983
Physical objects, including various computing devices, were separated from the main collection. Separated machines from this
donation include an IBM 5213-3 printer, a hand-built computer in a plywood box, a 1959 Ultra-Matic calculator made by Friden
Calculating Machine Company, and a universal potentiometer used to measure voltages. To view catalog records for the separated
items please search CHM's online catalog at
http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/search.
Related Collections at Other Repositories
The Jerry Slocum Mechanical Puzzle Collection at Indiana University has a collection of Burr puzzles and related books and
documents.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Burr puzzles
Computer programming
IBM System/3 (Computer)
IBM System/3 (Computer)--Programming
International Business Machines Corporation
Puzzles--Data processing