This Day in History
March 4, 1956
An Wang Sells Core Memory Patent to IBM
An Wang sells his patent for ferrite core memory to IBM for $500,000. One of the most important inventions in computer history, ferrite core memory was widely used in digital computers from the mid-1950s until the mid-1970s. The U.S. Patent Office awarded Wang the patent for what he called a pulse transfer controlling device in 1949. Jay Forrester at MIT is considered the inventor of core memory.


