International Business Machines : RAMAC
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International Business Machines : RAMAC
In 1952, IBM sent Reynold Johnson to San José to open its first West Coast development laboratory to research new data storage methods. At this site in 1955, IBM unveiled RAMAC (Random Access Method of Accounting and Control), the world’s first system for storing computer data on magnetic disks. This technology is the basis for many of today’s computer applications. In 1984, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers named RAMAC an International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. In 1986, Rey Johnson received the National Medal of Technology from President Reagan.
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IBM 350 Random Access Method of Accounting and Control (RAMAC)
International Historic
Mechanical Engineering Landmark
1956 – San Jose, California
The IBM 350 disk drive storage development pioneered the breakthrough to on-line computer systems by providing the first storage device with random access to large volumes of data. It has become the primary computer bulk-storage medium, displacing punched cards and magnetic tapes and making possible the use of the computer in such areas as airline reservations, automated banking, medical diagnosis, and space flights. Disk storage is now the primary means of storing database information on-line for computers.
Development of the disk drive was pioneered by a small group of IBM Engineers in San Jose.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers – 1984
Marker is on Notre Dame Avenue near West St. John Street, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
