Item Details

Description

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 automated electronic and 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).

Biographical/Historical Note

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.

Level of description

Folder

Date

1947-1995 (Made)

Publisher

Computer History Museum (Publisher)

Extent

4.84 linear feet in 3 record cartons and 1 oversize box

Subject

Computer Industry, IBM 650 (Computer), IBM 701 (Computer), IBM 7030 (Computer), International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Los Alamos National Laboratory

Collection title

Cuthbert C. Hurd papers

Credit

Gift of Elizabeth R. Nowicki and William Nowicki

Catalogue number

102733944

Lot number

X2772.2004