Artifact Details

Title

Guide to the John C. McPherson collection

Catalog Number

102733950

Type

Document

Description

The John C. McPherson collection contains materials from McPherson’s career at IBM, which lasted from 1930 to 1971. During his time at IBM, McPherson witnessed and participated in IBM’s shift from punched card machines to electronic computers and, at the end of his career, became a key supporter of the programming language APL (A Programming Language). Materials include manuals, papers, and administrative records relating to APL; conference proceedings – including materials from the Joint Computer Conference, of which McPherson served as chairman in 1951; technical papers and articles written by McPherson, Kenneth E. Iverson, and others; IBM administrative records reflecting policies and projects spanning four decades; personal papers and correspondence, including letters between McPherson and Thomas J. Watson, Jr.; and manuals and books published by IBM, MIT, and the Harvard University Computation Laboratory. The records span 1921 through 1993, with the bulk of the collection being from 1950 to 1971.

Date

1921-1993; Bulk 1950-1971

Author

Doub, Bo; Hayden, Kim; Lott, Sara Chabino

Publisher

Computer History Museum

Extent

9.17 linear feet in 7 record cartons and one manuscript box

Category

Finding Aid

Subject

APL (Computer program language); Computer industry; International Business Machines Corporation; Iverson, Kenneth E.; McPherson, John C., 1908-1999; Punched card systems; Watson, Thomas J., 1914-1993

Collection Title

John C. McPherson collection

Credit

Gift of Ray Polivka

Lot Number

X3853.2007