First Stored-Program Computer Runs

Date: June 21, 1948 • Location: Rome, Italy

The Manchester Baby (replica pictured), the world's first stored-program computer, ran its first program.

The Manchester Baby, also called the Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM), was the first electronic stored-program computer. It was built at the Victoria University of Manchester by Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn, and Geoff Tootill, and ran its first program on 21 June 1948.