John Presper Eckert

John Presper Eckert was born on April 9, 1919 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Alongside John W. Mauchly they created the first digital computer from 1941-1945. Mauchly worked more on the overall design while Eckert was involved in the electronics. Eckert and Mauchly started up the Electronic Control Company. This company built the Binary Automatic Computer (BINAC). The major advantage to this machine was that it used magnetic tapes to store information rather that punched cards. The Electronic Control Company was asked by the National Bureau of Standards to create a Universal Automatic Computer. The ECC ran into finacial trouble and was consumed by the Remington Rand Corporation. The Universal Automatic Computer was finished by Remington Rand in 1950. Eckert stayed with this company until his retirement. John Presper Eckert died on June 5, 1995.

Abraham Darby

Abraham Darby was born about 1678. He invented Coke smelting in 1709. This process replaced charcoal with coal in metal foundries. This was a major advantage to Britain since coal was becoming more an more scarce and expensive also. He also made major discoveries in brass production that turned Britain into a major exporter of brass. He also designed sand casting which allows that mold to be reused thus costing the companies less money. Darby died on March 8, 1717