Whenever I have pressed the case that John von Neumann should be considered the father of the modern stored-program computer ie the one that nearly everyone uses and carries around in their pockets, I've been met with hurt rebukes.
These rebukes are sometimes based on scholarship (sadly, out of date) but mostly these outraged critics base their opinions on what they read on the Internet and some fairly sloppy pop histories.
So let's lay out von Neumann's claim properly, as I have not seen it done elsewhere. The argument has three strands:
1. An idea
2. A principle
3. A machine First, let's deal briefly with some of the other figures and machines oft cited in this debate. Important to note that all those below had key roles in the development of computing machines but none could be credited with sparking the development of the modern computer.
1. Zuse. The Z3 was electromechanical and wasn't really Turing complete. Moreover both the Z3 and the Zuse's 1945 Z4 stored programs on tape and not internal memory. Zuse later claimed he considered and rejected treating program instructions as data, which is exactly what all modern computers do. The roots of modern computing do not lie here.
2. Babbage & Lovelace. Babbage designed a digital mechanical general-purpose computer that was never built and, again, was programmed by punched cards and did not store programs in memory. Lovelace wrote an algorithm for it. It had a bug and it never ran because the machine it was designed for was never built. Lovelace's contributions were not recognised until the mid-twentieth century, when she was rightly celebrated for her achievements. But this was AFTER the first modern computers were in action.
3. The Manchester Baby (SSEM). Generally recognised as the first electronic stored-program computer. But it's design was completely based on von Neumann's EDVAC report. It ran its first program on 21 June 1948. As we shall see, that was TWO clear months after the ENIAC, reconfigured into a primitive stored-program computer by von Neumann's second wife, Klari Dan, ran its first program. Klari's program had 800+ lines of code and was the first ever computer simulation (of an atom bomb. An accurate one sadly).
4. Mauchly & Eckert. Designed and built the ENIAC, the first electronic, general-purpose digital computer. The ENIAC was 'programmable' in the sense that you could spend a few days changing the plugs and wiring around, a big job in itself, then troubleshoot for a few more days but the hassle was such that in practice it ran the same program for weeks and months. These two deserve a lot of credit. But the ENIAC did not store programs internally until von Neumann, Dan et al reconfigured it into an EDVAC-style stored program computer in 1948. That configuration change is what makes the ENIAC a contender for 'first' modern stored-program computer. Critics will argue it was never designed as one however. They would have a point but it is possible for reasonable people to disagree on this.
5. EDSAC. There are no prizes for second place. An EDVAC-style stored program computer that ran its first program in 1949. Again, based on von Neumann's EDVAC report.
6. Harvard Mark I. A lovely machine by Howard Aiken. It was electromechanical and did not store programs in memory, it was programmed with punched tape. Incidentally, guess who ran the first program on it? Yep, Johnny von Neumann in 1944, checking out whether his design for the implosion bomb (which would become Trinity) would work. Aiken never knew.
7. Atanasoff–Berry computer (ABC). Alas poor Eckert. After the patent wars over who invevented what were concluded and the computer determined to be unpatentable, the court declared the ABC to be the first automatic electronic digital computer. The ABC though was not programmable. Eckert had paid a visit to Atanasoff though before building the ENIAC. He took notes.
8. The Colossus. Ah the Brits. You invent the world's first programmable, electronic, digital computers and you keep it secret until the mid-70s. The Colossi were not in any case modern stored program computers.
9. Turing. No, no, no. Turing had nothing at all to do with the modern computer. He had a great paper in mathematical logic which grappled with Hilbert's Entscheidungsproblem. But it most certainly was not a blueprint for a modern stored-program computer. None of the pioneers above read Turing's paper. Von Neumann did but it is not at all obvious that somehow led him to the von Neumann architecture. Turing's theoretical work was later co-opted by the nascent discipline of computer science in the late 1950s when it needed a formal theoretical underpinning (in universities, you don't want to get mistaken for engineers). Here's historian Tom Haigh "Von Neumann Thought Turing’s Universal Machine was ‘Simple and Neat.’ But That Didn’t Tell Him How to Design a Computer." dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.114…
Turing designed but did not build a stored program computer, the ACE. His design appeared AFTER von Neumann's report, cited it, absorbed many of its features but introduced some clever 'improvements'. These improvements meant it lacked thesimplicity that made von Neumann's architecture so attractive (and so it remains). The ACE was, in effect, another dead end. Ask yourself why, if the von Neumann architecture was as stunningly obvious as some have alleged in hindsight, why did Turing choose to have a different, more complicated architecture and why did his 'improved' architecture fail to take off in the way that von Neumann's did?
"Schrödinger was not trying to advance the state of the art of feline euthanasia. Neither was Turing proposing the construction of a new kind of calculating machine."-historian Tom Haigh.
Turing boosters shouldn't be too upset. He made brilliant, real contributions to mathematical logic, code-breaking and AI.
Here's a sympathetic article on the ACE and its influence. cacm.acm.org/opinion/alan-t…
And here's a series of posts by me on why it's not Turing
ananyo.substack.com/p/the-fascinat…
And here's what John Womersley, who recruited Turing to the NPL, had to say about his ACE design:

My new piece! "Why should physics—rooted in making sense of real things in the world—provide such good leads for solving some of the toughest problems in mathematics, which deals with intangible stuff, like functions and equations?" Enjoy! 🧵 1/
nautil.us/why-physics-is… For centuries, philosophers, mathematicians and physicists have pondered why maths 'works' in the sciences. Eugene Wigner even devoted a whole essay to what he called the “Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences.” But what about the converse question? 2/

Von Neumann was so far ahead of his time, contemporary science fiction authors appreciated his ideas years before many of his colleagues did... 1/

https://twitter.com/C4COMPUTATION/status/1518032448067616771

His lectures on self-replicating automata delivered at the 1948 Hixon Symposium on Cerebral Mechanisms
in Behaviour were published in 1951. They occured first in Philip K Dick's 1953 short story, 'Second Variety', which was turned into a film-'Screamers'-in... 1995 2/

German mathematician Grete Hermann was born #OnThisDay in 1901. The only female doctoral student of the only female professor of mathematics at the University of Göttingen, Emmy Noether. Short thread. More in my book! 1/ wwnorton.com/books/the-man-… Hermann flourished at Göttingen despite the sexism of the faculty. Just a few years before she began her PhD, historians and linguists had tried to block Noether’s own appointment, forcing Hilbert to intervene on her behalf. 2/

Mathematical genius John von Neumann died 65 years ago today in Washington D.C. Possibly the smartest person who ever lived, he forged a blueprint for the future and changed America--and the world--forever. Find out how on 2.22.22 wwnorton.com/books/the-man-… 1/ Born in Budapest in 1903, by the time he died von Neumann was as famous in the USA as Einstein—and considered far sharper. While Einstein’s most famous work was done in Europe, von Neumann’s life in America was richly productive—and influential 2/

For #AdaLovelaceDay21, a long thread on Klári Dan von Neumann, writer of the first truly useful, complex programs ever to have been executed on a modern computer and to my mind, the most overlooked person in the history of computing 1/ Klári was born 110 years ago to a wealthy Jewish family in sparkling Belle Époque Budapest. The family hosted riotous parties where businessmen and politicians rubbed shoulders with artists and writers. She would rekindle the spirit of those gatherings in America years later 2/

🅿🆄🅱🅻🅸🅲🅰🆃🅸🅾🅽 🅳🅰🆈!!!🙌👏🙌
To celebrate, a bumper thread about the genius at the centre of my book. RT ░N░O░W░ to spread the word... and for a chance to WIN a signed copy (yes, I’ll post abroad if I need to) 1/
penguin.co.uk/books/313705/t… This is the story of the 20th century’s foremost forgotten intellectual, a man who was in his day as well-known as Einstein—and considered smarter. Sixty-five years after his death, the impact of von Neumann’s ideas on contemporary life are...without parallel 2/

A thread about my book, ‘The Man from the Future’ and why I think you’ll love it even if you’ve never read a scientific biography before. Let me take you on a journey into our future’s past... 1/ penguin.co.uk/books/313705/t… Who was John von Neumann? Born in 1903, he’s the 20th century’s foremost forgotten intellectual, a man who was as well-known as Einstein—and considered smarter. Sixty-five years after his death, the impact of von Neumann’s ideas on contemporary life are...without parallel 2/

I hate lockdowns and I hate schools being closed. Which is why I don't want a fourth lockdown later this year. How do we avoid that? 1/ First let's counter this idea that scientists are pessimistic. This isn't true. In my experience, generally, they're rather an optimistic bunch. My rule of thumb is that if you listen to many scientists, they're actually giving you an upbeat interpretation of the facts. 2/

Great series from @PhysicsWorld on scientists (nearly all women) overlooked for a Nobel. Additional reason that Meitner was overlooked: as a refugee in Sweden, she was working in Manne Siegbahn's lab... 1/

https://twitter.com/PhysicsWorld/status/1313172637825355776

Siegbahn was a physics Nobelist, very influential in the higher echelons of Swedish science and, apparently, a notorious misogynist (see Ruth Lewin Sime's ace biog) who was resentful about Meitner's presence.

1/ Thread on Sweden, #coronavirus, the mathematician John von Neumann and the war that didn’t occur 2/ Von Neumann helped invent, among other things, the modern computer, game theory and the atom bomb. He predicted WWII, the Holocaust, that France would be overrun quickly, that the US would enter the war when UK struggled...

1/ Some thoughts on medium/long term 'exit strategy'. I can't see one without significant drawbacks if, as seems likely, relatively small proportion of population infected with #coronavirus. Very happy to be corrected. Possibilities... 2/ Option A: Slowly lift lockdown measures when peak has subsided eg send kids back to school, reopen shops - but continue social distancing. This will result in second wave of infections, which would have to be followed by another lockdown lasting weeks...

Fun #Boris fact. About 13 years ago, when I was news ed at @ResFortnight, we sent a reporter along to interview the then shadow higher education minister about universities and science policy. It was a total farce. He neither knew nor cared one jot.... @ResFortnight At one point, he blustered (approximately), "Well you clearly know more about this than I do, Why don't you tell me what our policies should be."