From the listserv "Women in Computing History"


Last weekend I dug out some old documents I've saved from the '50s.
If anyone is seriously archiving names and accomplishments, here's a quote
from the "IBM Applied Science Division Technical Newsletter No. 11"
of March 1956:

	"This issue of the Newsletter is devoted to a report by Dr. V. M.
	Wolontis of the Bell Telephone Laboratories, describing a Complete
	Floating-Decimal Interpretive System for the IBM 650 Magnetic
	Drum Calculator.  The system is the result of a joint effort by
	several members of the Laboratories, including Miss D.C.Leagus,
	Miss R.A.Weiss, Miss M.C.Gray, and Dr. G.L.Baldwin  and it has
	benefited from suggestions by Dr. R.W.Hamming and Dr. S.P.Morgan.
	We wish to extend our thanks to the Bell Telephone Laboratories
	and to the above-mentioned individuals for their valuable
	contribution to the interchange of technical information.
	
	In its external characteristics, the interpretive system described
	in this report owes much to the IBM Speedcoding System for the 701."


Then on June 1, 1960 a Programmer's Manual was distributed for the 7090.
Each copy had the programmer's name printed on the cover, a nice touch
that I've never seen done since.

The 7090 Monitor Program was patterned after a 704 Monitor which was designed
and written by G. H. Mealy and Mrs. G. J. Hansen.

The 7090 manual details an extensive list of contributors both male and female
from the Labs and also outside sources.  Since this is a women in computing
newsgroup I'll mention just the women:

	Relocatable Binary Loader, Tape Editor, Miscellaneous Parts of the
	Monitor -- Mrs. G. J. Hansen assisted by C. F. Pease

	Mathematical Library -- Mis M. C. Gray assisted by Mrs. W. L. Mammel,
	Miss C. L. Monahan

I remember Gwen Hansen as a most impressive individual.  She gave a two hour
lecture on her work to our group and when she finished everyone just said
"WOW"!  The work was extensive, thorough and she knew it inside and out.

Mary Byrne