The John R. Ehrman collection documents Ehrman’s work in programming at IBM and Stanford University, and his membership with SHARE, an early user group for programmers of IBM mainframe computers. Material dates from 1956 to 2005, with the bulk from 1966 to 1995. Much of the collection’s focus is on programming, with an emphasis on FORTRAN and its related languages, and consists mainly of manuals, reference guides, books, technical reports, specifications, and program listings. Nearly half of the material is published by IBM. The rest of the collection is published by Stanford University’s Computer Science Department and SLAC, SHARE, and other universities, associations, and companies.

John R. Ehrman was born in Richmond, Virginia on July 5, 1935. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Oberlin College in 1956. Ehrman was first introduced to programming and computers during his time at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he managed the Academic Computer Center and taught introductory programming courses from 1963 to 1965. He also received his PhD from U of I in theoretical physics in 1963. After finishing at U of I, Ehrman moved on to Stanford University, where he provided computer support to physicists and engineers, worked in the Computation Center of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), and taught students in IBM Assembler Language programming. Ehrman worked and taught at Stanford from 1966 to 1983. In March of 1983, Ehrman began a 33-year career at IBM, ending as senior programmer in 2016. During his time at IBM, Ehrman created and led development of IBM's High Level Assembler (HLASM), gave presentations at many user group conferences, and visited customer sites to provide advice and assistance. Throughout his career, Ehrman has been an active member of the user group, SHARE. Ehrman first became a member of SHARE in 1964, and his membership activities include designing an early instance of the group’s logo, serving as project manager for various Assembler and FORTRAN-related initiatives, chairing the Fortran Standards Committee, serving on the SHARE Board of Directors, and cofounding the annual SHARE Academy: Assembler Bootcamp with Michael Stack. Ehrman retired from IBM and SHARE in 2016.

9.5 Linear feet, 7 record cartons, 1 half manuscript box, and 1 microfiche box

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 as owner of the material.

The collection is open for research.