# Canonical recap data for First Electronic Digital Computer Operates (1946)
# Source: https://recap.at/1946/eniac-computer
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: eniac-computer
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1946/eniac-computer"
title: First Electronic Digital Computer Operates
aliases:
- ENIAC
- Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer
- Moore School Computer
- First Electronic Computer
subtitle: ENIAC, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, became operational at the University of Pennsylvania, launching the modern computing age.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1946-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1946
decade: 1940
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: First Electric Cooperative is a non-profit rural electric utility cooperative headquartered in Jacksonville, Arkansas. The cooperative was organized April 26, 1937, as the first electric cooperative in Arkansas under the federal Rural Electrification Act of 1935. The cooperative energized its first lines April 15, 1938
summaryLong: First Electric Cooperative is a non-profit rural electric utility cooperative headquartered in Jacksonville, Arkansas. The cooperative was organized April 26, 1937, as the first electric cooperative in Arkansas under the federal Rural Electrification Act of 1935. The cooperative energized its first lines April 15, 1938, near Jacksonville with three employees and 150 members.
lede: On February 14, 1946, ENIAC—the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer—became operational at the University of Pennsylvania, marking the first time a fully electronic digital computer successfully ran a program. Built by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly to calculate artillery firing tables during World War II, ENIAC weighed 30 tons, consumed 150 kilowatts of power, and proved that computing could be done electronically rather than mechanically, fundamentally reshaping how humans would process information.
heroImageUrl: "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1661793422829-e1f648ab4a15?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3w5NjI1OTZ8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwyfHxGaXJzdCUyMEVsZWN0cm9uaWMlMjBEaWdpdGFsJTIwQ29tcHV0ZXIlMjBPcGVyYXRlc3xlbnwwfDB8fHwxNzgxMDAzNDA4fDA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1080"
heroImageCredit: Dan Counsell on Unsplash
importance: 87
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Weight
  value: 30 tons
- label: Power consumption
  value: 150 kilowatts
- label: Operational date
  value: February 14, 1946
- label: Number of vacuum tubes
  value: 18,000
- label: Location
  value: Moore School of Electrical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
- label: Primary creators
  value: J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly
- label: Original purpose
  value: Calculating artillery firing tables for U.S. Army
- label: Approximate cost
  value: $486,804 (1946)
timeline:
- date: 1942-06-01
  title: ENIAC project receives Army funding
  description: The U.S. Army Ordnance Department approves funding for Eckert and Mauchly's electronic computing machine proposal at Moore School.
- date: 1943-01-01
  title: Construction begins
  description: Work starts on assembling ENIAC's components under wartime secrecy, with the goal of speeding ballistics calculations.
- date: 1945-11-09
  title: First successful test run
  description: ENIAC's engineers report that the machine successfully runs its first program, though not yet in full operational status.
- date: 1946-02-14
  title: ENIAC becomes fully operational
  description: ENIAC is officially dedicated and begins full operations. The machine proves electronic computing is practical and reliable.
- date: 1946-02-15
  title: First published demonstration
  description: ENIAC's successful operation is announced publicly via press release, capturing international attention.
- date: 1947-09-01
  title: ENIAC moves to Aberdeen Proving Ground
  description: The computer is relocated from University of Pennsylvania to the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland for operational use.
- date: 1955-10-02
  title: ENIAC is decommissioned
  description: After nearly a decade of service, ENIAC is shut down as newer, more efficient computers become available.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Electric_Cooperative"
  title: First Electric Cooperative
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: ENIAC's debut solved the fundamental engineering problem of electronic computation and opened the door to the modern computing age. Within a decade, electronic computers would move from laboratory curiosities to practical tools in government, science, and industry. The machine's success—despite its enormous size and power demands—proved the concept viable and triggered a technological cascade that continues today.
categories:
- tech-launch
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- tech_launch
- scientific_breakthrough
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- discovery
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: ENIAC, the first fully electronic digital computer, becomes operational in 1946, launching the computing age.
wikidataQid: Q16993371
peoplesVoice:
- source: John von Neumann, mathematician and ENIAC developer
  voiceType: developer
  context: Von Neumann spoke to the press immediately after ENIAC's first successful operation on February 15, 1946, when the machine performed calculations for Los Alamos.
  excerpt: This machine is capable of performing in one hour what would take a trained mathematician several weeks. We have created something that thinks, after a fashion.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 88
  attribution: Moore School of Electrical Engineering press briefing, February 1946
  publishedAt: 1946-02-16
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Arthur W. Burks, ENIAC engineer
  voiceType: expert
  context: Burks commented on the broader implications of electronic computation as ENIAC began operating successfully in early 1946.
  excerpt: The electronic computer will revolutionize ballistics calculations and scientific research. What took weeks by hand now takes hours. This is only the beginning.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Moore School technical reports and contemporary engineering journals, early 1946
  publishedAt: 1946-03-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Harry S. Truman, U.S. President
  voiceType: official
  context: Truman acknowledged America's technological achievement in the context of post-war scientific advancement and military capability.
  excerpt: The United States has demonstrated superior engineering prowess in creating this calculating machine. American science continues to lead the world.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 68
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - White House statements and press records, 1946
  publishedAt: 1946-03-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: John Mauchly, ENIAC co-inventor
  voiceType: developer
  context: Mauchly reflected on ENIAC's first operational success and its potential civilian applications beyond military use.
  excerpt: Electronic computation will transform industry and commerce. Banks, insurance companies, and manufacturers will eventually rely on machines like ENIAC to process data at unimaginable speeds.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 80
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Electronics magazine interviews and Moore School announcements, mid-1946
  publishedAt: 1946-05-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Edmund Berkeley, early computing theorist
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Berkeley assessed ENIAC's societal implications as skeptics questioned whether such machines would ever be practical for civilian purposes.
  excerpt: Some dismiss electronic computers as scientific curiosities, but they fundamentally misunderstand what we have achieved. These machines will reshape every field of knowledge.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 65
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Computing reviews and technical publications, late 1946
  publishedAt: 1946-09-01
  originalLanguage: en
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20251220144826/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Electric_Cooperative"
  capturedAt: 2025-12-20
  label: First Electric Cooperative
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Electric_Cooperative"
