(October 28, 2022) After World War II, engineers and programmers rushed to make sure that the United States stayed ahead of the world in top-secret research into computing and ballistics. Officials at Aberdeen Proving Ground, located in Harford County, assigned six women to program the world’s first general-purpose, programmable, all-electronic computer – known as the ENIAC — though no instruction codes or programming languages existed.
The roots of ENIAC are in much of every IT process used in today’s business and personal computing. However, the immeasurable contributions of these women programmers were never told – until now.
Over the course of a decade, author Kathy Kleiman recorded extensive interviews with four of the original six ENIAC programmers about their pioneering work. Proving Ground restores these women to their rightful place as technological revolutionaries.
Join the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center, the Historical Society of Harford County and Discovery Center at Water’s Edge as we add “HERStory to history to tell OURstory” and welcome Kathy Kleiman to a free community forum to discuss Proving Ground.
Arrive early at 5:30 pm and meet the author. Get your book signed before or after the 6:30 pm presentation. The program is free, but please register in advance: https://untoldstory.eventbrite.com
