{"id":220754,"date":"2025-06-28T07:33:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T07:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/220754\/"},"modified":"2025-06-28T07:33:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T07:33:12","slug":"how-manchester-built-the-worlds-first-modern-computer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/220754\/","title":{"rendered":"How Manchester built the world\u2019s first modern computer"},"content":{"rendered":"

– Advertisement –\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Manchester has gifted the world<\/a> many change-making inventions.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest? The computer.<\/p>\n

Nobody really knew what it did at first.<\/p>\n

It could subtract numbers. It could play a strange, electronic version of a Christmas carol. It cost the equivalent of around \u00a33 million in today\u2019s money.<\/p>\n

But in 1948, inside a quiet lab at the University of Manchester, something happened that would change the world forever. A box of wires, valves and blinking lights ran a set of instructions stored in its own electronic memory.<\/p>\n

They called it\u00a0\u2018Baby\u2019.<\/p>\n

It was the first computer of its kind \u2013 the first\u00a0stored-program computer. That one idea is still how all modern computers work today.<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s first stored-program computer: The Manchester Baby<\/p>\n

Baby wasn\u2019t built to look impressive. It wasn\u2019t meant to be a headline. It was an experiment.<\/p>\n

\"Baby<\/p>\n

Tom Kilburn and Freddie Williams, two brilliant engineers at the University of Manchester, were trying to solve a simple problem: how to store information inside a machine using electricity.<\/p>\n

The solution was Baby. It ran its first program on 21 June 1948, proving for the first time that a computer could store and run instructions electronically. This meant the same machine could do different jobs, just by loading a different program.<\/p>\n

That might sound obvious today. But in 1948, it was revolutionary.<\/p>\n

And just like we talk about\u00a0AI\u00a0now, people back then asked the same big questions.
Can it think for itself? Could it become more intelligent than humans? Should we be worried?<\/p>\n

It felt like science fiction \u2013 because it was. But the world was waking up to the idea that machines could do more than just calculate.<\/p>\n

As Freddie Williams later put it:<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing was ever the same again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alan Turing\u2019s role in Manchester\u2019s computing revolution<\/p>\n

Alan Turing<\/a> didn\u2019t build Baby \u2013 but his thinking helped shape it.<\/p>\n

Already famous for his wartime work breaking the Enigma code, Turing joined the University of Manchester in 1948, just months after Baby\u2019s first run. He brought with him a powerful idea from a paper he wrote in 1936: the concept of a \u201cuniversal machine\u201d \u2013 one machine that could do anything, given the right program.<\/p>\n

Working alongside Kilburn and Williams, Turing helped design the next stage: the Manchester Mark I, a more powerful machine based on Baby\u2019s principles. He also wrote some of the world\u2019s first software programs \u2013 including an early chess engine.<\/p>\n

His legacy has inspired generations of technologists, including\u00a0Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who was fascinated by Turing\u2019s story and saw him as one of the true pioneers of the digital age. Jobs reportedly spoke of Turing\u2019s genius and the tragedy of his life with real admiration.<\/p>\n

His vision helped set the stage for the entire software industry, and some even believe he invented AI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manchester creates the world\u2019s first commercial computer<\/p>\n

After proving the idea with Baby and Mark I, the University of Manchester teamed up with local engineering company\u00a0Ferranti.<\/p>\n

The result? The\u00a0Ferranti Mark 1, the world\u2019s\u00a0first commercially available computer. It was sold to universities, businesses and the government, starting in 1951.<\/p>\n

Manchester had gone from experiment to enterprise in just three years.<\/p>\n

Ferranti went on to launch\u00a0Europe\u2019s first microchip\u00a0in 1976, cementing Manchester\u2019s role as a global leader in computing innovation. Microchips made computers smaller, faster and more affordable \u2013 paving the way for the personal computer boom.<\/p>\n

From Kenbak-1 to Playstation: how computers became personal<\/p>\n

Baby grew up.<\/p>\n

In the early 1970s, the\u00a0Kenbak-1\u00a0appeared. Often called the world\u2019s first personal computer, it had no keyboard or screen \u2013 just switches and lights. But it proved people could own and program their own machines.<\/p>\n

By the 1980s, microchips powered the\u00a0home computer revolution. Machines like the BBC Micro, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 arrived in bedrooms, classrooms and living rooms across the UK.<\/p>\n

Then came gaming.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Consoles like the Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Mega Drive brought computing into the world of play. And by the 1990s and 2000s, computers were in our pockets, in our cars and in our homes.<\/p>\n

And it all started with a blinking box in Manchester.<\/p>\n

Visit the world\u2019s first computer at the Science and Industry Museum Manchester<\/p>\n

Today, you can visit a full working replica of\u00a0Baby\u00a0at the award-winning<\/a>\u00a0Science and Industry Museum\u00a0in Manchester. It sits alongside the original equipment, still humming with history.<\/p>\n

Volunteer Eric Wright was just four when Manchester\u2019s \u2018Baby\u2019 became the world\u2019s first modern computer. Decades later, it would shape his future.<\/p>\n

\"VolunteerVolunteer Eric Wright in front of \u2018Baby\u2019 the Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t realise how computers would advance in my lifetime,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

As a teenager, he built his own radios. That passion led him to study at the University of Manchester, where he was taught by Baby\u2019s creators, Professors Williams and Kilburn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith hindsight, it was a great honour,\u201d Eric says. \u201cI\u2019d been taught computers from the bottom up, and that made all the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years later, seeing Baby at the museum felt like coming home. \u201cIt was like going back to 1959,\u201d he says, \u201cusing the same components I started with.\u201d<\/p>\n

From 128 bytes to gigabytes, he adds, \u201cToday\u2019s RAM still works on the same principle invented in Manchester. That\u2019s truly remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just a display, it\u2019s a reminder. That from a single experiment, one of the world\u2019s biggest technological revolutions began.<\/p>\n

Power Up: play 150+ games consoles at Manchester\u2019s ultimate gaming experience<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Just a short walk from Baby, the Science and Industry Museum is also hosting\u00a0Power Up<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a huge, hands-on celebration of\u00a0five decades of gaming<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With\u00a0over 150 consoles\u00a0to play \u2013 from Pong to Pac-Man, Minecraft to Mario \u2013 Power Up is the perfect way to experience how computers became play machines.<\/p>\n

Try out retro favourites, discover hidden gems, or dive into the latest\u00a0virtual reality\u00a0experiences. It\u2019s fully interactive and\u00a0recommended for ages 7 and up\u00a0(Key Stage 2+). Ideal for families, school groups or anyone who\u2019s ever picked up a controller.<\/p>\n

Power Up isn\u2019t just about nostalgia. It encourages problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration and creativity \u2013 all through the power of play.<\/p>\n

From early arcade machines to cutting-edge tech, it\u2019s a journey through how gaming shaped generations \u2013 and how Manchester played a part in making it all possible.<\/p>\n

Manchester\u2019s place in computing history<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s first stored-program computer was born in Manchester.<\/p>\n

Baby was the first of its kind. It inspired Alan Turing. It led to the first commercial computer. It helped launch the microchip revolution.<\/p>\n

It laid the foundations for the world we live in now \u2013 one where computers power everything from games to global systems.<\/p>\n

Today, we carry the legacy of Baby in our pockets. Every time we use a phone, play a game, send a message or load an app, we\u2019re using the same idea that Baby proved in 1948.<\/p>\n

From a blinking light in a Manchester lab to a global digital world. It all started here \u2013 in Manchester.<\/p>\n

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