Guide to the Lawrence C. Brown papers
Finding aid prepared by Sydney Gulbronson Olson
Computer History Museum
March 2018
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA, 94043
(650) 810-1010
research@computerhistory.org
Title: Lawrence C. Brown papers
Identifier/Call Number: X7817.2016
Contributing Institution:
Computer History Museum
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
9.42 Linear feet,
7 record cartons, 1 metal case
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1955-1975
Date (inclusive): 1953-1996
Abstract: The Lawrence C. Brown papers range in date from 1953 to 1993 and contain technical reports, manuals, internal memos, correspondence,
and a small amount of software and photographic materials. About half of the collection pertains directly to Brown's early
work at a programmer at International Business Machines (IBM), where he developed programming languages such as PL/I, Fortran,
and NPL. Most of these materials were produced during the 1950s and 1960s and include IBM internal design documents and memos,
code listings, flowcharts, reports, and correspondence chronicling the development of Fortran and PL/I languages and compilers.
The other half of the collection contains manuals, technical reports, and other printed materials from a range of companies
and institutions, including Case University and Dahlgren Naval Weapons Laboratory. The papers also include about 8 linear
inches of punch cards, as well as a small amount of 35mm slides.
Collection surveyed by Sydney Gulbronson Olson, 2018.
The collection is open for research. Please note that the collection may require review by CHM staff before viewing.
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], Lawrence C. Brown papers, Lot X7817.2016, Box [#], Computer History Museum.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
From the estate of Lawrence C. Brown, 2016.
Lawrence (Larry) Conway Brown was a computer programmer and designer of programming languages. Brown was born July 24, 1939
in Ohio. He graduated from Case Institute of Technology in 1960 with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics. He moved to Boulder,
Colorado in 1965, where he worked for International Business Machines (IBM). Brown worked for IBM for 32 years, retiring in
1991. In addition to his work in computer programming, Brown was very involved in the community of Boulder, serving on the
city planning board as well as the library commission. He died June 17, 2015 in Boulder at the age of 75.
Scope and Content of the Collection
The Lawrence C. Brown papers contain technical reports, manuals, internal memos, clippings, and a small amount of software
and photographic materials gathered over the course of Brown's 32-year long career at International Business Machines (IBM).
While the papers range in date from 1953 to 1993, the bulk of the materials are from 1955 to 1975.
About half of the collection pertains directly to Brown's early work at IBM, where he developed programming languages such
as PL/I, Fortran, and NPL. Most of these materials were produced during the 1950s and 1960s and include manuals, internal
reports, and notes. There are also IBM internal design documents and memos, code listings, flowcharts, reports, and correspondence
chronicling the development of Fortran and PL/I languages and compilers. Many of these reports about PL/I are from the IBM
Hursley and IBM Vienna laboratories. This portion of the collection also contains notes from SHARE meetings, most of which
concern the definition and standardization of the Fortran language.
The other half of the collection contains manuals, technical reports, and other printed materials from a range of companies
and institutions. Examples of companies and topics represented in this part of the collection include Cray, Digital Equipment
Corporation, Burroughs Corporation, the Illiac IV, Basic, and ALGOL. Items of particular note in this portion of the collection
include materials published in the 1950s from Case University and Dahlgren Naval Weapons Laboratory, including materials related
to NORC. The papers also include about 8 linear inches of punch cards, as well as a small amount of 35mm slides.
Physical objects were separated from the main collection. To view catalog records for separated material, search the CHM catalog
at
http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/search/ .
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Dahlgren Laboratory.
International Business Machines Corporation.
FORTRAN
PL/I (Computer program language)