Computer (human calculator)

A computer was a person employed to perform mathematical calculations, often by hand or with tables and mechanical aids. Human computers worked individually or in teams before electronic computers automated much of this labor.

Connect

Human computer: A person who performs calculations, either professionally or as part of a larger task. The broader role includes calculation work beyond the historical occupation meant by this page.
Computing: The performance of calculations or the execution of procedures that produce calculated results. The occupation takes its name from the work of computing, long before machines dominated the word.
Maria Mitchell: An American astronomer who discovered a comet in 1847 and became the first professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Mitchell directed teams of women computers who calculated the orbit of Venus.
Ballistics: The science of projectile motion, including the launch, flight, and impact of projectiles. Ballistic firing tables required repeated calculations for different weapons, distances, and conditions.
ENIAC: An early electronic, general-purpose digital computer completed in the United States in 1945. ENIAC shifted the word “computer” toward machines, while human operators still programmed and ran it.
Desk calculator: A mechanical or electromechanical machine designed for arithmetic calculations at a desk. Desk calculators let human computers perform repetitive arithmetic faster and with fewer slips.
Astronomical calculation: The computation of positions, motions, and events involving celestial objects. Astronomy required extensive tables and repeated calculations, creating demand for skilled human computers.
Edward Charles Pickering: An American astronomer who directed the Harvard College Observatory from 1877 to 1919. Pickering hired women to perform calculations and analyze astronomical observations at Harvard.
Manhattan Project: The U.S.-led research and engineering program that developed the first nuclear weapons during World War II. Human computers performed calculations for the project’s physics and engineering work.
Programming: The creation of instructions that direct a computer to carry out operations. Some human computers moved from calculating results by hand to preparing instructions for electronic machines.