1. Mary Hall Computer Science and ISI Univ. of Southern California
ACM History Committee
Mary Hall
Computer Science and ISI
Univ. of Southern California
Michael S. Mahoney
History of Science
Princeton University
I’ve added my middle initial, since there are several Michael Mahoneys in computing

2. ACM History Committee Charter
The ACM History Committee fosters
preservation and interpretation of the
history of the ACM and its role in the
development of computing.
To this end,the Committee provides
guidance within the Association and
carries out activities independently and
in collaboration with other groups.
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

3. ACM History Committee Members
Co-Chairs:
Richard Snodgrass, Computer Science, University of Arizona,
David S. Wise, Computer Science, Indiana University,
Historians:
William Aspray, Informatics, Indiana University,
Michael S. Mahoney, History, Princeton University,
SIG Governing Board Liaison:
Mary Hall, USC Information Sciences Institute,
Publications Board Liaison:
Carol Hutchins, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences Library,
ACM HQ Representative:
Patricia Ryan, Deputy Executive Director, ACM,
Len Shustek, Chair, Board of Trustees, Computer History Museum,
Webmaster
Joseph A. November, History, Princeton University,
ACM Staff contact for logistics:
Monique Chang, Human Resources Director, ACM,
I changed my title and added Shustek’s as Rick suggested.
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

4. OUTLINE Motivation Activities of the History Committee
Archiving SIG History
History of Computing
Possible SIG Contributions
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

5. Why a History Committee?
Created in July 2004
Why now?
ACM will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2007.
Few of those present at the founding of ACM are still with us.
In the past two years, four Turing Award winners have died.
There are ACM conferences for which no printed proceedings can be located.
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

6. Because we don’t know our history.
What was the impetus for the 18 transactions and 8 journals?
What was the genesis of the 24 SIGs? What was the arc of those that no longer exist?
Where did early and middle leaders see the field going? How did their vision shape it? In what ways were they prescient and what did they not foresee?
The history of ACM is in many respects the history of computing.
I’d prefer to say that it reflects the history of computing. The operative term here is “in many respects” because in other respects ACM has reacted rather than acted. For example, ACM was slow to recognize the emergence of the PC and only shifted attention to it after it had established a market in the ‘90s. One only has to look at CACM during the ‘80s and early ‘90s to see that. ACM has also tended to emphasize the academic side of the field, leaving it to IEEE to focus on industry. Again compare CACM with IEEE Computer or SEN with IEEE Software.
The story of how computing originated and evolved cannot be told without understanding how ACM originated and evolved.
And conversely; for our first charge, it is as important to understand how ACM responded (or did not) to developments in the field.
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

7. The History of ACM is Important!
ACM, as the first society of computing, should not only contribute to the future of information technology, but should document its past.
What does the last fifty+ years of ACM tell us about the next ten years, the next fifty years, both of ACM and of computing in general?
(msm) Re: the second point, I don’t think history is much of a guide to the future. It can help us to determine where we are and where we’re headed by clarifying where we started and how we got here. If done well, it identifies the critical points at which things went one way rather than another and thus how the current trajectory is a branch of a broader tree of possibilities. Thus, it can reveal the discontinuities in what looks at first like a continuous trajectory. But pointing to what people did not see coming in the past doesn’t do much to improve our foresight. We honor our “visionaries” in hindsight, ignoring the equally prominent people whose visions proved illusory.
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

8. History Committee Activities: Oral Histories
Collecting, and (co-)sponsoring oral histories
Turing award winners
Richard Karp, Robert Tarjan
Also, SIGMOD sponsored Charles Bachman oral history
Former ACM presidents
Franz Alt, Bernie Galler, Walter Carlson and Anthony Ralston (co-sponsored by SIAM)
Identifying potential interviewees
46 Turing award winners
20 former ACM presidents
6 former ACM executive directors
10 early staff members and influential ACM leaders
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

9. History Committee Activities: Turing Award web site
Initiated by ACM Publications
Now edited by Thomas J. Bergin, Jr., co-editor of History of Programming Languages II, and former editor of Annals of History of Computing
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

10. Other History Committee Activities
ACM History website
This will allow us to link to historical information and SIG activities
ACM Archive Project
Archiving files as ACM moves its headquarters
National Museum of American History Digitization
Transcripts of ACM Presidents Franz Alt, Herb Grosch, Alton Householder, Harry Huskey, and John Mauchly, and ACM influential leader Paul Armer, along with a round-table discussion at an ACM conference in 1967.
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

11. SIG Activities to Preserve History: Technical Conferences
Consistent record-keeping of conferences
Program committee
Keynotes
Schedule and session chairs
Submission breakdown by country
Acceptance/rejection rates by sub-topic
Most of this information is known by the program chair, some is not preserved
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

12. Example: from SIGPLAN PLDI 2005 Conference Coverage, According to Area (1 of 2)
Categories from submission, most papers provided multiple categories. Average = 3
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

13. SIG Activities to Preserve History: Archives and Web sites
Track program committee members, authors, SIG organization, awards
Some portions strictly for organizational purposes, others visible to ACM community
Examples?
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

14. SIG Activities to Preserve History: Retrospectives
Retrospective Conferences
SIGPLAN History of Programming Languages
SIGGRAPH Pioneer Day
Published Retrospectives
20 Years of PLDI (SIGPLAN)
SIG History Committee (SIGMOD)
Awards
Awards for service and technical achievement
PLDI Most Influential Paper (10 year retrospective)
ICSE Most Influential Paper (10 year retrospective)
Disclaimer: Apologies for over-emphasis on SIGPLAN activities, which I know more about. Tell us what other SIGs are doing!
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

15. History of Computing: Institutions
IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
Charles Babbage Institute
Software History Center
Computer History Museum
National Archive for the History of Computing (UK)
...

16. History of Computing on the Web
Tom Haigh’s Computer File
JAN Lee’s site at Virginia Tech
Tim Bergin’s Computing History Museum
Computer History Museum
Charles Babbage Institute
ACM Portal
Multics, …
(msm) This will work better as a tabbed browser page (I assume we will have an Internet connection), so I can just move from one tab to the next.

17. History of Computing: Issues
Until recently, focus on hardware
Now shifting to software
Systems software
Applications software
Last done from perspective of domains of application
Histories of computing(s)
e.g. Cortada, Agar, Haigh,
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

18. Convergent History Internet/WWW Business, Industry & Government
Technology & Science
Design & maintenance
of large systems
electricity
telecommunications
files and accounts
tabulation
organization of
production
mathematical
calculation
mechanical
logic
management
Convergent History
ENIAC
scientific computation
EDVAC, EDSAC and others
EDP
computational science
mainframes
minis
micro
OR/MS
automation
robotics
Computer Science
Internet/WWW
systems
theory
AI &
human augmentation
ESS
August, 2005, SGB Meeting
©2004 msm

19. Communities of Computing
Business, Industry
& Government
Technology & Science
data processing
organization of
production
mathematical
calculation
mechanical
logic
design & maintenance
of large systems
electricity
telecommunications
management
ENIAC
military C&C
EDVAC
c o m p u t e r s
Computer Science
scientific computation
OR/MS
automation
robotics
EDP
SAGE
WWCCS
C3I
ESS
systems
theory
Communities of Computing
human augmentation
artificial intelligence
artificial life
computational science
August, 2005, SGB Meeting
©2004 msm

20. SIG-sponsored History
PLAN
HOPLs I (1978), II (1993), III (2006)
GRAPH
Milestones in Computer Graphics (1989)
SOFT
Impact Project
(msm) I can work from some links here, too.

21. SIG-sponsored HOx? Operating Systems Databases Graphics Communications
Computer Science
Software Engineering
Computer-Human Interface
...

22. UPCOMING ACTIVITY!
2007 CACM Special Issue on ACM History to coincide with 60th anniversary
Open to suggestions from SIGs
How do you want your SIG represented?
Do you have specific historical activities we should highlight?
Volunteers?
August, 2005, SGB Meeting

23. Summary We are a resource for the SIGs The SIGs can help us
Let us know of your historical activities and we will help publicize them!
If you would like to start new activities, let us know how we can help!
The SIGs can help us
Tell us how you are preserving your history so perhaps other SIGs can follow your lead.
Help ACM collect and preserve information in your area.
Co-sponsor oral histories for luminaries in your area.
August, 2005, SGB Meeting