Digital60 Celebrations: Kilburn Lecture by Prof Steve Furber

When Tom Kilburn came to Manchester in the late 1940s to begin work on a problem that had been baffling scientists for years, the ability of a machine to store memory, not even he could have envisaged the ways in which his invention would shape the modern world. It was the world’s first stored programme computer, it ran for the first time on June 21st 1948, and nothing was ever the same again. Tom Kilburn himself said: "The most exciting time was when the machine worked. Nothing could ever compare with that".

It is proposed that The Kilburn Lecture becomes an annual event that showcases achievements in the field of advanced computing and is delivered by pioneers whose work is building on Tom’s legacy of achievement and innovation, co-sponsored by the Manchester Lit & Phil, BCS, IET and the University of Manchester.

The 2008 Kilburn Lecture was delivered on June 20th as part of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the ‘Baby’, the world’s first stored program digital computer, designed and built here in Manchester.

Watch The Kilburn Lecture 2008 on IET TV Titled "The Relentless March of the Microchip" The 2008 speaker was Professor Steve Furber CBE of The University of Manchester School of Computer Science and holder of the IET Faraday Medal. 2008-06-20 12:00:00.0 IT Channel >> go to webcast