Documentary Info

Left to Right: Pfc. Homer Spence, J. Presper Eckert, Dr. John Mauchly, Jean Jennings Bartik,
Lt Herman Goldstine, Ruth Lichteman Teitelbaum.

ENIAC Programmers Project

In 1946 six brilliant young women programmed the first all-electronic, programmable computer, the ENIAC, a project run by the U.S. Army in Philadelphia as part of a secret World War II project. They learned to program without programming languages or manuals. By the Demonstration Day arrived in 1946, the ENIAC ran their ballistics trajectory program— a differential calculus equation— in seconds!

Yet when the ENIAC was unveiled to the press and the public in 1946, the women were never introduced; they were invisible.

Kathy Kleiman and the ENIAC Programmers Project have devoted nearly two decades to researching their work, recording their stories, seeking honors for the ENIAC 6, and sharing their story… and their tremendous voices!

About The Documentary

ENIAC Programmer Project founder Kathy Kleiman teamed up with senior PBS producer David Roland to record 20 hours of broadcast-quality oral histories Kathleen McNulty Mauchly, Jean Jennings Bartik, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, and lifelong programming pioneer Betty Snyder Holberton.

Kleiman then worked with documentary PBS and Frontlines producers Jon Palfreman and Kate McMahon to tell this incredible story. Together they produced a stunning documentary, The Computers that premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival (2014) and won best documentary short at the United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF 2016).

Featuring the ENIAC Programmers sharing their own story and Movietone footage from the 1940s, this inspiring film will make students believe that programming careers lie within their grasp, and adults cheer. At 20 minutes, it is designed to fit into classes, afterschool activities, and STEM events.

This is a story lost since WWII about the creation of computing technologies we cannot live without—by six incredible young women everyone should know!

Special Screenings Include

Google Worldwide Offices

Brazil IGF
Internet Governance Forum

Duke University

WeTeach_CS Summit

Seattle International Film Festival

NASA’s Ames Research Center

LACIGF9
Latin American Internet Governance Forum

University of Maryland

National Summit for Educational Equity

White House Computer Science Heroes

Bloomberg/London

Universidad Francisco Gavidia, El Salvador
Texas A&M University

National Science Foundation Inspirefest Dublin