Look Who it Was Random video

Oral History of Alan and Henrietta Leiner

540 views · Published 30 January 2018 · 2:03:02 · Indexed 26 October 2026

Channel: Computer History Museum · 2018 · Science & Technology

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Interviewed by Dag Spicer on 2004-06-30 in Mountain View, CA X2808.2004 
© Computer History Museum

In this oral history, Alan and Henrietta Leiner tell about the work that they did for the U.S. government in Washington, D.C. at the National Bureau of Standards, where three pioneering computers were designed. 

In 1950 the first of these computers, the SEAC, was put into operation. It operated successfully for many years, using programs that were stored within the machine. In 1952 the second computer, the DYSEAC, was completed and was installed in a trailer van, thus making it a mobile computer. It was capable of interacting in real time with a variety of external devices, including the SEAC. 

In 1959 these capabilities were expanded in the PILOT, whose system included a network of three independent computers capable of working together concurrently on a common problem. Alan Leiner and his staff devised the logical design of these pioneering computers. 

He and Henrietta Leiner subsequently undertook a second career, investigating the computing structures in the human brain, which led to a surprising discovery about the brain structures that contribute to the cognitive capabilities of humans.

* Note:  Transcripts represent what was said in the interview. However, to enhance meaning or add clarification, interviewees have the opportunity to modify this text afterward. This may result in discrepancies between the transcript and the video. Please refer to the transcript for further information - http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102658319

Visit computerhistory.org/collections/oralhistories/ for more information about the Computer History Museum's Oral History Collection.

Lot number: X2808.2004
Catalog number: 102618634

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