Computer Research Corporation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Computer Research Corporation (CRC) was an early developer of minicomputers. It was founded on July 16, 1950.[1]
The founding owners of CRC were Floyd Steele, Donald Eckdahl, Hrant (Harold) Sarkinssian, Richard E. Sprague, and Irving S. Reed.[1] With the exception of Reed, all members of the CRC had been on the design team for the MADDIDA, a special-purpose digital computer developed from 1946 to 1949 for Northrop.[1] Realizing that a problem-oriented language (POL) could be used to make a general-purpose computer function as a differential analyzer, the MADDIDA design team left Northrup in 1950 to focus on designing general-purpose computers, leading to them to found the CRC.[1] After developing the Cadac,[2] an early minicomputer, the CRC was sold to National Cash Register (NCR) in February 1953, launching NCR into the digital computing business.[1]
| Computer | Date | Units | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRC 101 | 1951 | 1 | A Digital Differential Analyzer (DDA): Unlike general-purpose computers, it was a specialized machine designed specifically for solving differential equations (like Northrop's MADDIDA) |
| Cadac (CRC 102) | 1951 | 1 (Prototype) | A small-scale general-purpose computer. The prototype featured roughly 195–200 tubes, while the production model (102-A) expanded to 800 tubes. It featured a 12-inch magnetic drum with 1,024 words of memory.[2] |
| NCR CRC 102-A | 1953 | ~30 | Binary scientific computer with 800 vacuum tubes. NCR's entry into the electronics market after acquiring CRC. |
