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Title: John R. Ehrman collection
Identifier/Call Number: X5621.2010
Contributing Institution:
Computer History Museum
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
9.5 Linear feet,
7 record cartons, 1 half manuscript box, and 1 microfiche box
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1966-1995
Date (inclusive): 1956-2005
Abstract: 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.
creator:
John R., Ehrman, 1935-
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 as owner of the material.
[Identification of Item], [Date], John R. Ehrman collection, Lot X5621.2010, Box [#], Folder [#], Catalog [#], Computer History
Museum.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of John Ehrman, 2009.
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.
Scope and Content of the Collection
The John R. Ehrman collection contains material collected or created by Ehrman that documents his work at IBM and Stanford
University, and his membership with SHARE. Records date from 1956 to 2005, with the bulk from 1966 to 1995. Most of the collection
consists of manuals, reference guides, books, technical reports, specifications, and program listings. Much of the records’
focus is on programming, with an emphasis on FORTRAN and its related languages.
Nearly half of the collection is made up of material published by IBM, with some of it pre-dating Ehrman’s employment there.
A significant portion of the IBM material is related to the IBM System/360 and IBM System/370 and their operating systems,
the Basic Assembly Language (BAL) and its successors, and other programming languages.
Though containing less material, the records related to Stanford and SHARE provide a background in the development of FORTRAN
and other languages and programs. The Stanford records highlight the ACME (Advanced Computer for Medical Research) time-sharing
system, typesetting and typography programming, and the programming languages MORTRAN and FORTRAN. The SHARE material contains
a large amount of records specific to the group’s involvement in the development of FORTRAN, in addition to records related
to SHARE meetings and technical reports.
The final series in the collection contains manuals, specifications, technical reports, books, program listings, conference
proceedings, catalogs, and newsletters from a variety of companies, associations, and universities not represented in the
first three series. Topics vary, but much of the material is about FORTRAN and related languages, computer design, and programming.
The collection is arranged into 4 series:
Series 1, IBM records, 1965-1997
Series 2, Stanford University technical reports and manuals, 1966-1983
Series 3, SHARE records, 1964-2005
Series 4, Other organizations records, 1956-1991
Books, software, and physical objects were separated from the main collection, including packaged Apple Computer software,
floppy disks, and a KoalaPad tablet. Issues of the periodical SHARE Secretary's Distribution (SSD) were also separated from
the collection. To view catalog records for separated material search the CHM catalog at
http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/search/ .
John Ehrman papers, Lot X3468.2006.
John Ehrman manual collection, Lot X4155.2008.
Gift of John Ehrman, Lot X7492.2015.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Assembly languages (Electronic computers)
Computer programming
FORTRAN
International Business Machines Corporation
SHARE (Association)