Early Computers   Harry Truman - President of USA Mao Zedong - Peoples Republic of China George VI - died in 1952 Princess Elizabeth crowned Queen of England Joseph McCarthy - US Senator from Wisconsin John Von Neumann - developed "First Draft" of EDVAC John Mauchly and J. Preper Eckert - created ENIAC and first computer company During this time period, it was a time of rebuilding peace. America was in a period of progression emerging as a world wide superpower moving on from the effects of WWII and Pearl Harbor with Harry Truman as President. In 1949 the Cold War erupted and Germany and East Germany were formally established as nations. It was the time when television began to boom and the first color commercials where aired. The North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) was signed by fourteen nations and Africa institutionalized apartheid also in 1949. In 1950 Truman ordered the development of the atom bomb and the next year Julius and Ethyl Rosenberg were sentenced to death for passing these "secrets" to the Russians. During this same year Congress passed laws declaring communism illegal in the US. In 1951 Lybia gained Independence, Princess Elizabeth was crowned Queen of England and the US detonated the first hydrogen bomb. In this era of early computer history, Maurice Wilkes developed the first subroutine based programming system. At Cambridge University he ran a mathematical and electronic computer laboratory and developed the EDSAC which was up and running by 1949. He went on after this period to develop the EDSAC2 and had roles in development of CTSS and CAD program systems. John Von Neumann documented the first description of the EDVAC along with the ideas from John Mauchly and J. Preper Eckert when brainstorming systems that would make programming procedures more simplistic after the ENIAC. These men derived the concept of the first memory stored computer program. The document produced by Von Neumann was called the "First Draft." Out of these visions the first company that was in the business of building computers was born-the Eckert-Mauchly computer company. This company was bought out and became Sperry Rand UNIVAC which eventually cross licensed patents with IBM.   Jennifer Frazier