Jean Bartik One of the first women to program ENIAC, the world's first electronic computer Date of Birth: 27.12.1924 Country: USA

Biography of Jean Bartik

Jean Bartik, born Betty Jean Jennings, was one of the first women to program the ENIAC, the world's first electronic computer. She was born on December 27, 1924, in Gentry County, Missouri. Bartik attended a teacher's college, where she chose mathematics as her major. She was the only one among her classmates who showed interest in excelling in this discipline. Bartik graduated from college in 1945.

Bartik's father, William Smith Jennings, worked as a school teacher and farmer. He began his teaching career at the age of 17, immediately after receiving his high school diploma. William and Jean's mother, Lula May Spencehower, got married on February 21, 1914. Jean had three older brothers: William Smith Jennings, born on January 10, 1915; Robert Newton Jennings, born on March 15, 1918; and Raymond DJ Jennings, born on January 23, 1922. She also had two older sisters: Emma Estella Jennings, born on August 11, 1916, and Lula May Jennings, born on August 22, 1919. Her younger sister was named Mabel Kathleen.

In 1945, the U.S. Army was in need of a group of mathematician specialists for military purposes. Bartik's scientific supervisor noticed an advertisement for recruitment into the army project in Philadelphia and suggested considering her candidacy. Jennings received a placement at the University of Pennsylvania to work in the artillery supply department at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. There, Bartik became a "computer," manually calculating the ballistic trajectory of projectiles. It was during this work that she met her future husband, engineer William Bartik, who was involved in another project at the Pentagon at the University of Pennsylvania. They got married in 1946, but their marriage ended in 1968.

When the first electronic numerical integrator and computer (ENIAC) became operational, which was used for the same calculations Bartik was performing, she was chosen as one of the first "clerks" of the ENIAC. She, along with five other female programmers, became extremely skilled in operating the electronic digital computer, even though they were not provided with any guidance on how to work with the ENIAC. Initially, the team was not allowed access to the classified machine, so they had to learn to program the ENIAC solely from schematic representations.

Regarding the first public demonstration of the ENIAC, Bartik said, "The day the ENIAC was presented became one of the most exciting days of my life. The demonstration was fantastic. The ENIAC calculated trajectories faster than a bullet could complete its flight. We transmitted copies of the calculations as soon as they were ready. The ENIAC was 100 times faster than any machine that existed at the time. With its flashing lights, it was also an impressive machine capable of graphically demonstrating how fast calculations were actually being performed."

Later, Bartik became part of a group whose goal was to transform the ENIAC into a stored-program computer. After World War II, Bartik switched to work with ENIAC engineers John Eckert and John Mauchly and helped them develop the BINAC and UNIVAC I computers. She referred to her close-knit group of scientists and programmers as the "technical Camelot."

In 1951, when the UNIVAC was introduced, Bartik left her job to focus on raising her three children. She remained friends with Kathleen "Kay" Antonelli, the widow of J. Mauchly, for over 60 years. Mauchly escorted Bartik down the aisle at her wedding, and at the wedding reception, he approached Antonelli to ask her out on a date. Antonelli was also one of the six original ENIAC programmers.

In 1967, Bartik reentered the workforce and became an editor at Auerbach Publishers, one of the first information publications on high technology. She left the publishing company to collaborate with Data Decisions, a competitor of Datapro Research and Auerbach. Data Decisions was founded in 1980 by Elizabeth McConkey Zussman and Sandra Eisenberg. Bartik joined a year later, taking on the role of Senior Editor of Communication Services Research Department. Data Decisions was acquired by McGraw Hill, the then-owner of Datapro, in 1985 and was immediately closed.

Finding herself unemployed at the age of 62, Bartik was unable to find a new position in the computer industry. Instead, she began a career as a real estate agent. She passed away from heart failure on March 23, 2011.

In 1997, Bartik was inducted into the International Women's Hall of Fame for her pioneering work as one of the first programmers of the innovative ENIAC computer in 1945. In 2008, Bartik became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Computer History Museum "for her contribution as one of the first programmers of the ENIAC computer system in 1945 and for additional help in converting the ENIAC system into one of the first stored-program computers." In the same year, she received the "Pioneer of Computing" award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Bartik also received the "Korenman Award" from the Multinational Center for Women's Development in Technology.

Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville is home to the Bartik Museum, which showcases rare exhibits such as the ENIAC, BINAC, and UNIVAC.

In addition to her bachelor's degree in mathematics from the teacher's college, Bartik earned a master's degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania and an honorary doctorate from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville.