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Memorial Tributes: Volume 9 (2001)

Chapter: KONRAD ZUSE

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Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
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Page 305

KONRAD ZUSE

1910-1995

BY MANFRED SCHROEDER

KONRAD ZUSE, German computer pioneer, died on December 18, 1995, in Hünefeld near Bad Hersfeld (Hessia). Zuse is widely credited with the creation of the first functioning, freely programmable, and fully automatic digital computer. He also created, before 1946, the programming language Plankalkül, which anticipated essential aspects of modern programming languages. His concept of Rechnender Raum (literally: computing space) foretold computation by means of cellular automata.

Zuse was twenty-eight when, in 1938, he built his first sizeable computer, the Z1, occupying a large portion of his parent's living room. The Z1 was programmed by punched tape, stored sixty-four characters, and took three seconds for a multiplication. In the late 1930s, the German inventor built a functional computer, years before inventors in the United States and Great Britain would unveil similar machines. World War II restrained Zuse from claiming patents and seeking industry backing; it also left him in virtual obscurity.

“Zuse suffered from being in the wrong country at the wrong time,” says Maurice Wilkes, the British inventor whose work led to the first business computer, the LEO. “If he had been in the U.K. or the U.S., he may have had a much more prominent impact,” adds Gene Amdahl, chief architect of IBM's 360 mainframe.

Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
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Page 306

During the war, Zuse tried to get support from the German government for a two-year project to develop a large new computer to help improve antiaircraft defenses. “And just how long do you think it will take us to win the war?” he was asked when the project was rejected.

Only weeks before the Third Reich fell, he moved his only remaining computer, the Z4 to Göttingen in central Germany to protect it from advancing Soviet troops. His first three computers were demolished in bombing raids, but he rebuilt the Z1 from memory (no pun) more than forty years later.

“Fifty years ago, as a student of civil engineering, I was struck by the immense calculations that had to be performed in the construction of buildings,” Zuse said.

“I became convinced that machines should be doing these calculations, but at the time I understood nothing about computers. I was not even aware of Babbage's work and of diverse parallel developments in other countries such as the United States.

“Deciding to try new ways, I built my own computer with the following features: calculation of long programs controlled by a sequence of orders punched on tape (I started by using punched strips of film); use of the binary number system; introduction of floating point arithmetic.

“I began with a strong preference for mechanical systems, but I did not succeed and was forced to switch to electromechanical technology. Finally in 1941, in my parent's Berlin apartment, I completed the Z3—the first computer of its kind. My work was based mostly on private initiative, with assistance from some friends. Only after 1940 had I received sponsorship from the DVL [Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt] so that numerical problems, especially for aerodynamic applications, could be solved.

“During these developments, further aspects of computing became apparent. My friend Helmut Schreyer proposed the use of tubes in place of relays. The development of the switching algebra led to a connection with mathematical logic. These new ideas extended the concept of calculation beyond numbers and gave rise to the concept of artificial intelligence.”

Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
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Page 307

Zuse says his life has been marked by what he terms the curse of being ahead of his time. Indeed, while later iterations of Zuse's computer attracted the attention of IBM's Thomas Watson in 1947, Big Blue rejected Zuse's work. Other instances of the curse are detailed in his autobiography, My Life—The Computer. The English-language version was published in 1993 by Springer-Verlag in New York. But instead of frustration and bitterness, what emerges in the book is a remarkable story of a young pioneer who, against all odds, succeeded in realizing his dream.

Born on June 22, 1910, in Berlin, the son of a postmaster, Zuse grew up in Braunsberg in East Prussia not far from the shores of the Baltic Sea and the Masurian lake country. In his youth he was drawn to painting and building. He later studied engineering at Berlin's Technical University. Upon graduation, he was employed by the Henschel Aircraft Company in Berlin as a structural engineer. The mathematics of the job, Zuse recalls, was “torture.” He decided only a “computing machine” could rid him of the tedium. A few months later, Zuse quit his position at Henschel and announced, to his parents' horror, that he would construct a computer in their living room. It was 1935—seven years before John Mauchly and John Eckert got approval to build the Eniac.

The Z4, the final versions of Zuse's original machine, contained features found in today's microprocessors, such as the retrieval of computer instructions before use and a cache memory.

Zuse received many, if belated, honors. Between 1956 and 1992 he was awarded honorary doctorates, from Reykjavik (Iceland), Zürich (Switzerland), Siena (Italy) as well as four German universities. In 1966 Göttingen University appointed him an “Honorarprofessor.” Among his many medals are the Wernervon-Siemens Ring (1964), the Diesel Medal (1969), the newly created Konrad Zuse Medal (1981), Bavaria's Order of Maximilian (1984), the Golden Honor Ring of the German Museum (1984), and the Philip Morris Prize (1987). In 1972 Zuse was decorated by Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker with Germany's highest civilian order, the Grosses Verdienstkreuz mit Stern.

Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
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Page 308

Zuse was honorary member of the Leopoldina, the oldest German Scientific Academy. A number of streets and buildings were named for him, as well as a research center in Berlin and a scholarship program of the German government to support foreign guest professors. In 1981 Zuse was elected a foreign associate of the National Academy of Engineering.

Zuse loved hiking in his native country along the shores of the Baltic. He was an accomplished amateur painter and excelled at linoleum carving. Several of his works of art are reproduced in his autobiography. All his life he combined engineering insight with artistic vision.

Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
×

Page 309

Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
×

Page 310

Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
×

Page 311

APPENDIX

Members

Elected

Born

Deceased

Giovanni Astarita

1994

October 7, 1933

April 28, 1997

J. Leland Atwood

1974

October 26, 1904

March 05, 1999

Philip Barkan

1980

March 29, 1925

June 21, 1996

Marcel Louis J. Barrére

1984

August 19, 1920

August 25, 1996

Robert Bromberg

1969

August 6, 1921

January 25, 1999

G. Edwin Burks

1978

April 10, 1901

March 16, 1994

Paul F. Chenea

1969

May 17, 1918

March 24, 1996

Jerome B. Cohen

1993

July 16, 1932

November 7, 1999

Neville G. W. Cook

1988

January 29, 1938

March 3, 1998

Wallace Henry Coulter

1998

February 17, 1913

August 13, 1998

Sidney Darlington

1975

July 18, 1906

October 31, 1997

Rolf Eliassen

1971

February 22, 1911

March 14, 1997

Richard S. Engelbrecht

1976

March 11, 1926

September 1, 1996

Michael Ference, Jr.

1971

November 6, 1911

July 24, 1996

Donald Glen Fink

1969

November 8, 1911

May 3, 1996

John C. Geyer

1970

August 11, 1906

May 2, 1995

Martin Goland

1967

July 12, 1919

October 29, 1997

James P. Gould

1988

October 9, 1923

December 25, 1998

Meredith C. Gourdine

1991

September 26, 1929

November 20, 1998

Robert Herman

1978

August 29, 1914

February 13, 1997

Eivind Hognestad

1973

July 17, 1921

February 16, 2000

Joe Estes House

1995

September 28, 1923

May 1, 1998

George J. Huebner

1975

September 8, 1910

September 4, 1995

Lawrence E. Jenkins

1984

March 12, 1933

April 5, 1996

Reynold B. Johnson

1981

July 16, 1906

September 15, 1998

Robert T. Jones

1973

May 28, 1910

August 11, 1999

Jerry R. Junkins

1988

December 9, 1937

May 9, 1966

Robert M. Kenedi

1976

March 19, 1921

November 15, 1998

John R. Kiely

1967

November 8, 1906

January 10, 1996

Koji Kobayashi

1977

February 17, 1907

November 30, 1996

Walter F. Kosonocky

1992

December 15, 1931

November 2, 1996

Jai Krishna

1979

February 14, 1912

July 27, 1999

Rolf Landauer

1978

February 4, 1927

April 27, 1999

Clarence Edward Larson

1973

September 20, 1909

February 14, 1999

Gerald A. Leonards

1988

April 29, 1921

February 1, 1997

Fritz Leonhardt

1983

July 11, 1909

December 20, 1999

Arthur Lubinski

1986

March 30, 1910

May 3, 1996

Robert E. McIntosh

1997

January 19, 1940

July 10, 1998

David Packard

1971

September 7, 1912

March 26, 1996

Earl Randall Parker

1969

November 22, 1912

May 9, 1999

Donald William Pritchard

1993

October 20, 1922

April 23, 1999

Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
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Page 312

Wilbur L. Pritchard

1995

May 31, 1923

March 18, 1999

Eberhard F.M. Rees

1973

April 28, 1909

April 2, 1998

Eric Reissner

1976

January 5, 1913

November 1, 1996

Rudolf Schulten

1978

August 16, 1923

April 27, 1996

Henry E. Singleton

1979

November 27, 1916

August 31, 1999

Richard Skalak

1988

February 5, 1923

August 17, 1997

Gregory Eugene Stillman

1985

February 15, 1936

July 30, 1999

James R. Wait

1977

January 23, 1924

October 1, 1998

Robert H. Wentorf, Jr.

1979

May 28, 1926

April 03, 1997

Harold Alden Wheeler

1986

May 10, 1903

April 25, 1996

Basil Wright Wilson

1984

June 16, 1909

February 9, 1996

Carlos C. Wood

1967

June 19, 1913

May 14, 1997

Aaron D. Wyner

1994

March 17, 1939

September 29, 1997

Konrad Zuse

1967

June 22, 1910

December 18, 1995

Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
×
Page 305
Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
×
Page 306
Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
×
Page 307
Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
×
Page 308
Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
×
Page 309
Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
×
Page 310
Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
×
Page 311
Suggested Citation:"KONRAD ZUSE." National Academy of Engineering. 2001. Memorial Tributes: Volume 9. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10094.
×
Page 312
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This is the 9th Volume in the series Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and foreign associates. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. Through its members and foreign associates, the Academy carries out the responsibilities for which it was established in 1964.

Under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering was formed as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. Members are elected on the basis of significant contributions to engineering theory and practice and to the literature of engineering or on the basis of demonstrated unusual accomplishments in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology. The National Academies share a responsibility to advise the federal government on matters of science and technology. The expertise and credibility that the National Academy of Engineering brings to that task stem directly from the abilities, interests, and achievements of our members and foreign associates, our colleagues and friends, whose special gifts we remember in this book.

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