Crane (Hewitt D.) papers, 1959-2005

Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Title:
Hewitt D. Crane papers
Dates:
1959-2005
Creators:
Crane, Hewitt D., 1927-2008
Abstract:
The Hewitt D. Crane papers document Crane’s time as an engineer and inventor at Stanford Research Institute (later renamed SRI International), from 1956 to 2005. Included in the collection are materials related to some of the systems and products he developed, including all-magnetic computing and logic systems, the Purkinje Image Eye-Tracker, handwriting verification systems, and auditory neuroscience systems. Also included are manuscripts for his book “A Cubic Mile of Oil: Realities and Options for Averting the Looming Global Energy Crisis” and a history of the winery he co-founded, Ridge Vineyards.
Extent:
5.0 Linear feet, 4 record cartons
Language:
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], [Date], Hewitt D. Crane papers, Lot X4338.2008, Box [#], Folder [#], Catalog [#], Computer History Museum.

Background

Scope and content:

The Hewitt D. Crane papers contain materials collected and primarily authored by Crane during his time as an engineer at Stanford Research Institute (later renamed SRI International). Included in the collection are technical papers written by Crane, correspondence, grant applications, personal narratives, and SRI International records relating to client contracts and project proposals. The records span 1959 through 2007 with the bulk of the collection being from the early 1960s to the late 1980s. Highlights in the collection include notes, articles, and contract agreements regarding Crane’s handwriting recognition system and eye tracking technology. Also of interest are research and articles on all-magnetic computing systems, including one co-written by Crane and Douglas Engelbart, and a wide variety of explorations of human-computer interaction and sensory augmentation via computing systems. The collection contains very little documentation regarding Crane’s work on ERMA (Electronic Recording Machine, Accounting) – SRI’s project for Bank of America to automate its check-processing operations. Mentions of ERMA are limited to Crane’s biographical narratives.

Biographical / historical:

Hewitt D. Crane was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1927. After serving in the United States Navy as a radar technician during World War II, Crane studied electrical engineering at Columbia University, earning his BS in 1947, and Stanford University, earning his doctorate in 1960. Crane’s first jobs in the computer industry were debugging an early facsimile system at Western Union Research Laboratory (1948 to 1949), maintaining one of IBM’s earliest computers (the SSEC) (1949 to 1952), working on the IAS computer project led by John von Neumann at the Institute for Advanced Study (1952 to 1955), and working on magnetic-core memories at Sarnoff Research Laboratory (1955 to 1956).

In 1956, Crane moved to SRI International in Menlo Park, California, where he spent the rest of his career. His first project at SRI was helping with the creation of ERMA (Electronic Recording Machine, Accounting), a pioneering automated check processing system for Bank of America. Later projects included the study and development of all-magnetic computing and logic systems (a prototype of a very early all-magnetic computer is in the collection of CHM), automatic focus optical systems, the Purkinje Image Eye-Tracker, handwriting verification systems, optical character recognition, and auditory neuroscience. Crane was one of SRI’s most prolific inventors with more than 70 patents and 70 published papers to his name. “A Cubic Mile of Oil: Realities and Options for Averting the Looming Global Energy Crisis,” a book he authored with fellow SRI scientists Edwin Kinderman and Ripudaman Malhotra, was published posthumously in 2010. In addition to his computer engineering career, Crane co-founded Ridge Vineyards in Cupertino, California, in 1959. He died June 17, 2008, in Portola Valley, California.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Hewitt D. Crane family, 2007.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Bo Doub and Kim Hayden, 2015.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 2 series:

Series 1, Writings, 1959-2005, bulk 1960-1990

Series 2, SRI proposals and contracts, 1972-1982

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Bo Doub, Kim Hayden and Sara Chabino Lott
Sponsor:
Processing of this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives grant.
Date Prepared:
May 2015
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2016-03-24T10:29-0700

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], [Date], Hewitt D. Crane papers, Lot X4338.2008, Box [#], Folder [#], Catalog [#], Computer History Museum.

Location of this collection:
1401 Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA 94043, US
Contact:
(650) 810-1010
research@computerhistory.org
Website