University of Pennsylvania Finding Aids

This collection includes material related to the lives and work of Helen (1901-1985), Ira (1908-1997), and Michael Wolfert (1936-2001). It contains correspondence between the family and others; manuscripts by all three subjects, as well as others; financial documents; personal documents; photos taken by and of the family; newspaper clippings collected by Helen and Ira; and notes and miscellanea from all three subjects.

John W. Mauchly (1907-1980) was a physicist, teacher, and a leader in the development of computers. With J. Presper Eckert, he invented the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), the Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC), the Binary Automatic Computer (BINAC), and the Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC). This first installment of Mauchly's papers documents Mauchly's youth, education, early career at Ursinus College, his work at the University of Pennsylvania Moore School of Electrical Engineering, his partnership with J. Presper Eckert, with whom he formed two companies, the Electronic Control Company (ECC) and the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation (EMCC), and his work through 1959 with Remington Rand/Sperry Rand after its purchase of EMCC in 1950. Early work in programming, coding, compilers, routines and subroutines, and most importantly, the application of electronic computers in government, business, and industry, as well as the history of the computer, is well documented. Moreover, this collection provides a glimpse into the personal life of the remarkable man behind this work through his interactions with family, friends, and colleagues.