About UNIVAC

The UNIVAC I was the first American computer designed at the outset for business and administrative use with fast execution of relatively simple arithmetic and data transport operations, as opposed to the complex numerical calculations required of scientific computers. As such, the UNIVAC competed directly against punch-card machines, though the UNIVAC originally could neither read nor punch cards. That shortcoming hindered sales to companies concerned about the high cost of manually converting large quantities of existing data stored on cards. This was corrected by adding offline card processing equipment, the UNIVAC Tape to Card converter, to transfer data between cards and UNIVAC magnetic tapes.[6] However, the early market share of the UNIVAC I was lower than the Remington Rand Company wished.

To promote sales, the company joined with CBS to have UNIVAC I predict the result of the 1952 Presidential election. After it predicted Eisenhower would have a landslide victory over Adlai Stevenson, as opposed to the final Gallup Poll which had predicted that Eisenhower would win the popular vote by 51-49 in a close contest, the CBS crew was so certain that UNIVAC was wrong that they believed it was not working.

As the election continued, it became clear it was correct all along: UNIVAC had predicted Eisenhower would receive 32,915,949 votes and win the Electoral College 438-93, while the final result had Eisenhower receive 34,075,029 votes in a 442-89 Electoral College victory. UNIVAC had come within 3.5% of Eisenhower's popular vote tally, and four votes of his electoral vote total.

After the announcers admitted their sleight of hand, and their reluctance to believe the prediction, the machine became famous. This gave rise to a greater public awareness of computing technology,[7] while computerized predictions were a must-have part of election night broadcasts.

Installations

Univac I at Census Bureau with two operators ca. 1960

The first contracts were with government agencies such as the Census Bureau, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Army Map Service.[2] Contracts were also signed by the ACNielsen Company, and the Prudential Insurance Company. Following the sale of Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation to Remington Rand, due to the cost overruns on the project, Remington Rand convinced Nielsen and Prudential to cancel their contracts.

The first sale, to the Census Bureau, was marked with a formal ceremony on March 31, 1951, at the Eckert–Mauchly Division's factory at 3747 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia. The machine was not actually shipped until the following December, because, as the sole fully set-up model, it was needed for demonstration purposes, and the company was apprehensive about the difficulties of dismantling, transporting, and reassembling the delicate machine.[8] As a result, the first installation was with the second computer, delivered to the Pentagon in June 1952.