Cuthbert C. Hurd papers, 1947-1995

Summary

Abstract:

The Cuthbert C. Hurd papers consist of materials related to the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), primarily from 1949 through 1962, and Hurd's role in steering the company to develop its first electronic stored program computers during that time. The collection includes IBM reports and memoranda, personal correspondence, research on computing history, articles from publications, and testimony transcripts and legal documents from the IBM anti-trust case: United States v. International Business Machines Corp. (1979).

Extent:

4.84 Linear feet 3 record cartons and 1 oversize box

Language:

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], [Date], Cuthbert C. Hurd Papers, Lot X2772.2004, Box [#], Folder [#], Catalog [#], Computer History Museum.

Background

Scope and content:

The Cuthbert C. Hurd papers consist of materials related to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) and its development of electronic data processing machines during Hurd's time at the company from 1949 to 1962. Included in the collection are reports, articles, manuals, and other research and industry-related documents from 1947 to 1991; Hurd's professional and personal correspondence and papers from 1948 to 1995; and legal documents from the antitrust trial United States v. International Business Machines Corp. (1979). Of note in this collection are technical reports, specifications, and sales data relating to iconic IBM computers of this era; correspondence between Hurd and IBM president Thomas Watson, Jr.; photographs of IBM machines; and transcripts of Hurd's month-long testimony at the antitrust trial, which provides a history of the computer industry with particular regard to IBM's role in it.

Biographical / historical:

Cuthbert C. Hurd was born April 5, 1911, in Estherville, Iowa. He received his BA in mathematics from Drake University in 1932, his MS in mathematics from Iowa State College in 1934, and his PhD in mathematics from the University of Illinois in 1936.

After receiving his Ph.D, Hurd joined the faculty of Michigan State University from 1936 to 1942 as a mathematics instructor and assistant professor. For the duration of World War II, Hurd taught at the US Coast Guard Academy, and in 1945 he joined Allegheny College as the dean. Between 1947 and 1949, Hurd was the technical research Head for Union Carbide at the United States Atomic Energy Commission facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Hurd remained a consultant for Union Carbide from 1949 to 1959 even after joining IBM in 1949. Hurd stayed with IBM until 1962.

While at IBM, Hurd held many positions including director of applied science, director of electronic data processing machines, director of automation research, director of control systems, and finally special assistant to the vice president of research. Hurd encouraged IBM’s upper management to enter the nascent computer field, convincing them in the early 1950s that a market for scientific computers existed. While the move away from traditional punched card accounting machines was difficult for IBM, it proved successful. Hurd sold 10 IBM 701 computers, IBM's first commercial electronic stored program scientific computer. Soon after, Hurd became manager of the IBM team that invented and developed the FORTRAN programming language under team leader John Backus. Hurd remained a consultant for IBM until 1966 and served as an expert witness for IBM in antitrust cases.

From 1962 to 1974, Hurd was chairman of the board for Computer Usage Corporation. Between 1978 and 1986, Hurd served as chairman for Picodyne Incorporated, which he co-founded. In 1983, Hurd co-founded Quintus Computer Systems and was president and chairman until Quintus was sold in 1989. Throughout his career, Hurd served as a consultant and lecturer to higher education and industry. Hurd died on May 22, 1996, in Portola Valley, California.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Elizabeth R. Nowicki and William Nowicki, 2004.

Processing information:

Collection processed by Bo Doub and Kim Hayden, 2015.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 3 series:

Series 1, Printed, 1947-1991, bulk 1948-1962

Series 2, Correspondence and personal papers, 1949-1995

Series 3, United States v. International Business Machines Corp. (1979) records, 1979

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Related resources

Related material:

Computer development at IBM. Lecture by Cuthbert C. Hurd at the Los Alamos History of Computing Conference, Lot X3863.2007, Catalog number 102695526

Computer development at IBM. Lecture by Cuthbert C. Hurd at the Los Alamos History of Computing Conference, Lot X5953.2011, Catalog number 102695402

J. Pres Eckert papers, Lot X3115.2005, Catalog number 102660306

Fortran: 25th Anniversary, Lot X2843.2005, Catalog number 102651569

Harwood G. Kolsky papers, Lot X3021.2005, Catalog numbers 102679715, 102679765, and 102679763

Cuthbert C. Hurd, ed., IBM 701 - Thirtieth Anniversary 1953 - 1983, Annals of the History of Computing - Special Issue, volume 5, Number 2, April 1983, Lot X3682.2007, Catalog number 102628191

See How They Ran: Sixty Years of Computers on Film, From the Computer Museum Collection, Catalog number 102651589

Computer Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Computer Science at Stanford: The Impact of the First Ten Years (V0045). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Cuthbert C. Hurd Papers (CBI 95), Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Hurd, Cuthbert Corwin, 1911-. (1981). Oral history interview with Cuthbert Corwin Hurd. Charles Babbage Institute. University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy. http://purl.umn.edu/107368

Hurd, Cuthbert Corwin, 1911-. (1994). Oral history interview with Cuthbert Corwin Hurd. Charles Babbage Institute. University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy. http://purl.umn.edu/107370

Hurd, Cuthbert Corwin, 1911-. (1995). Oral history interview with Cuthbert Corwin Hurd. Charles Babbage Institute. University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy. http://purl.umn.edu/107371

John Von Neumann Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Antitrust Law
Computer Industry
IBM 650 (Computer)
IBM 701 (Computer)
IBM 7030 (Computer)
International Business Machines Corporation
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Monte Carlo method Computer programs

Names:

Hurd, Cuthbert Corwin, 1911-1996
Von Neumann, John, 1903-1957
Watson, Thomas J., 1914-1993

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], Cuthbert C. Hurd Papers, Lot X2772.2004, Box [#], Folder [#], Catalog [#], Computer History Museum.

Location of this collection:

Computer History Museum

1401 Shoreline Blvd.

Mountain View, CA 94043, US

Contact:

(650) 810-1010

research@computerhistory.org

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