Konrad Zuse

Konrad Zuse (June 22, 1910 - December 18, 1995) was a German engineer and computer pioneer. His greatest achievement was the completion of the first functional tape-stored-program-controlled computer, the Z3, in 1941.

Pre-WWII work and the Z1

Born in Berlin, Germany, Zuse graduated in civil engineering from the Technische Hochschule Berlin-Charlottenburg (today the Technische Universität Berlin or Technical University of Berlin) in 1935. During his engineering studies, Zuse had to perform many routine calculations by hand, which he found mind-numbingly boring. This experience led him to dream about performing calculations by machine.

Related Topics:
Berlin - Germany - Civil engineering - Technical University of Berlin - 1935

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He started work at the Henschel aircraft factory in Dessau, but only one year later he resigned from his job to build a programmable machine.

Related Topics:
Henschel - Dessau

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Working in his parents' apartment in 1938, his first attempt, called the Z1, was a binary electrically driven mechanical calculator with limited programmability, reading instructions from punched tape. The Z1 never worked well, though, due to the lack of sufficiently precise parts. The Z1 and its original blueprints were destroyed during World War II.

Related Topics:
1938 - Z1 - Punched tape - Blueprint

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