Computation Lab Built to House Giant Calculator

The University began building a new facility in 1946 for the sole purpose of holding a giant calculator, which measured some 50 feet in length.

The calculator, given to Harvard by International Business Machines (IBM) in August 1944, was used during World War II for secret research.

The calculator was capable of carrying out solutions to 23 significant digits, an extremely large number in its day.

In 1946, the calculator was operated under the supervision of Howard H. Aiken, who was then an associate professor of applied mathematics. It was in use 24 hours a day--20 by the Navy and four for the University's own research projects.

The calculator was "made up of constantly moving gears, counters, switches, shafts and control circuits, with 500 miles of wire and 2,000,000 wire connections," according to a July 2, 1946 edition of The Crimson.

"Problems are introduced into the machine on a coded tape which is prepared in advance," the article read.

"Its mathematical limitations have not as yet been determined.... It is capable of solving problems which no scientist could live long enough to finish."

Two thousand visitors had watched the machine in action since it was given to the University, according to the article.

The new building, called the Computation Center, was built at the corner of Oxford and Jarvis Streets.

In addition to containing the giant calculator, the building was two stories high and contained several lecture halls and a laboratory.

The laboratory has since been renamed the Aiken Computation Laboratory in honor of the calculator project's supervisor.