Pioneer in computing and original concept designer behind IBM's Harvard Mark I computer, Aiken transformed early computing with his vision of electro-mechanical calculation.
Howard studied at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and later obtained his Ph.D. in physics at Harvard University in 1939. During this time, he encountered differential equations that he could only solve numerically. He envisioned an electro-mechanical computing device that could do much of the tedious work for him.
This computer was originally called the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (ASCC) and later renamed Harvard Mark I. With help from Grace Hopper and funding from IBM, the machine was completed in 1944. In 1947, Aiken completed his work on the Harvard Mark II computer.
He continued his work on the Mark III and the Harvard Mark IV. The Mark III used some electronic components and the Mark IV was all-electronic. The Mark III and Mark IV used magnetic drum memory, and the Mark IV also had magnetic core memory.
