[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 38 (Monday, March 1, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S953]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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             RECOGNIZING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF ENIAC DAY

 Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today in commemoration of the 
75th anniversary of the electronic numerical integrator and computer. 
This anniversary, formally known as ENIAC Day, marks the 1946 
dedication at the University of Pennsylvania of the first all-
electronic, programmable computer.
  Invented by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert of the University's 
Moore School of Electrical Engineering, construction of the computer 
began in July 1943. After several years of tireless work, Mauchly and 
Eckert produced a 27-ton computer that occupied 1,800 square feet of 
floor space and could complete complex calculations near 
instantaneously. Also due credit are the original programmers of ENIAC, 
Kathleen McNulty Mauchly Antonelli, Jean Jennings Bartik, Frances Betty 
Snyder Holberton, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, Frances Bilas Spence, and 
Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum, without whom the operation of the machine 
would not be possible. After ENIAC, Mauchly and Eckert continued to be 
industry pioneers and went on to invent UNIVAC, the first commercial 
computer. Today's Unisys Corporation, which I am proud to note is 
headquartered in Blue Bell, PA, traces a momentous part of its origins 
back to J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly and their early inventions.
  As we mark this 75th anniversary, we marvel at the impact of ENIAC 
and how far computers have come. While ENIAC was originally intended as 
a tool to further our national defense, we have come to rely on later 
iterations of the computer in all aspects of life. Computers enable us 
to be more efficient, more connected and have transformed the world we 
live in. I look forward to what the world looks like when we celebrate 
the 100th anniversary of ENIAC Day in 2046.

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