Samuel Lubkin

Lore & Background

Samuel Lubkin studied mathematics at Cooper Union, where he was president of the Mathematics Club in 1923–1924, and earned a PhD in applied mathematics from the Courant Institute. He worked on the ENIAC at the Moore School, then joined the Ballistic Research Laboratory to design the EDVAC's programming system. His 'Operating Manual for the EDVAC' was called 'the bible of the computer industry in the late 1940s and early 1950s'. He later joined the team that built the first UNIVAC. At Reeves Instrument Corporation, he led a project to design their first digital computer, but the company switched to analog computers, and Lubkin left for the National Bureau of Standards, where he replicated his EDVAC design as the SEAC computer. Lubkin then co-founded the Electronic Computer Corporation in Brooklyn, New York, hiring experienced engineers who had lost security clearance due to the House Un-American Activities Committee. The company's main product was the ELECOM 100, a vacuum tube computer with drum memory and the first to use magnetic tape data storage as a peripheral. It measured 10 feet wide by 6 feet high by 2 feet deep. A unit was tested at Ballistic Research Laboratory, and one was at Stevens Institute of Technology; in 1955, three units were reported in operation. The ELECOM 120 was a decimal version with expanded memory; five were in operation by 1955, used by Griffiss Air Force Base, Westinghouse, and Shell Development Laboratories. An ELECOM 50 accounting machine and an ELECOM 125 also existed. In 1953, Underwood Typewriter Company acquired Electronic Computer Corporation, and Lubkin stayed as Technical Director. Underwood struggled financially and eventually closed the computer division in 1957, after which Lubkin left. He later worked as a consultant for New York University, Curtiss-Wright, and Republic Aviation. In 1962, he founded Digital Electronics Inc., focusing on custom data conversion equipment and test gear, and became embroiled in litigation with cofounders.

Reader's Guide

Samuel Lubkin's significance lies in his direct involvement with several landmark early computers—ENIAC, EDVAC, UNIVAC, and SEAC—and his founding of a company that produced the ELECOM series, which included the first computer to use magnetic tape data storage. His 'Operating Manual for the EDVAC' was described as 'the bible of the computer industry' in the late 1940s and early 1950s, indicating its influence on early programming practices. The Electronic Computer Corporation, though short-lived, employed engineers displaced by the House Un-American Activities Committee, reflecting the social context of the era. The ELECOM 100 and 120 found niche users in government and industry, but the company's acquisition by Underwood and the latter's financial troubles limited its market impact. Lubkin's later career included founding Digital Electronics Inc., where he obtained patents, though litigation with cofounders marked its history. His work illustrates the transition from room-sized military computers to smaller commercial machines, and his belief in purpose-built industrial computers foreshadowed later trends.

Did You Know?

• Lubkin's company, Electronic Computer Corporation, hired engineers who lost security clearance due to the House Un-American Activities Committee.
• In 1955, only three ELECOM 100 units and five ELECOM 120 units were reported in operation.