One of the world’s first general-purpose computers just turned 80 years old [Video]

In context: Harvard University officially introduced the Harvard Mark I computer on August 7, 1944. Also known as the Automated Sequence Controlled Calculator or ASCC, the computer was the brainchild of US physicist Howard Aiken. IBM developed the system in about four years using Aiken’s plans and military funding.

The Harvard Mark I is the first programmable computer ever built in the United States. The Register notes that Aiken developed the system’s original concept and brought it to International Business Machines (IBM) in 1937. Sitting IBM CEO Thomas Watson Sr. approved and funded the innovative project in 1939.

The ASCC was completed and built in February 1944. IBM later disassembled it and shipped it to Harvard. The university hosted the machine while US government organizations employed its remarkable computing capabilities for military-related operations. In fact, the US Navy provided …