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FISCAL 2015 REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY ON CELEBRATING LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN HISTORY It is 1815. Napoleon is defeated in the Battle of what Babbage apparently didn’t: that his computer Waterloo. The United States, just 39 years old, is could also process symbols and might, for example, mopping up from its second military victory over “compose elaborate and scientifi c pieces of music.” Britain in the War of 1812. The hot composer of the These are remarkable people, and it is entirely day is Ludwig van Beethoven, who is up to sym- appropriate that we celebrate their accomplishments phony #8. on the occasion of their bicentennial birthdays. At And two of the most unlikely people to contribute the Computer History Museum we will be holding to the invention of the computer were born about a events and mounting exhibits in their honor this fall. month apart. But it is also important that we be historically George Boole was the son of a shoemaker and a accurate about what we are celebrating and avoid maid. He went to a commercial trade school and contributing to myth-making. George Boole did had to start work at the age of 16 to support his not invent computer logic. Ada Lovelace did not family. But he was a bright boy who, in his spare invent computer programming and wasn’t the fi rst time, taught himself mathematics. He blossomed, computer programmer. Yet you can fi nd websites and at the age of 34, without any college degrees, he that authoritatively say those things. was appointed to the chair of mathematics at what It is natural to want, with good intentions, to is now University College Cork in Ireland. embellish the past to make a point or to motivate Although he didn’t know it at the time, Boole the next generation. But fi ddling with the truth is invented the logic that all computers would use. In both dangerous and unnecessary. As historians Tom 1854 he published a book titled An Investigation Haigh and Mark Priestly have said, “Good history of the Laws of Thought, on which are founded the …will ultimately prove more inspiring and more mathematical theories of logic and probabilities. relevant than superhero stories.”1 In it he created a mathematical language for logic, We don’t need to exaggerate. So bring on the which we now, in his honor, call Boolean algebra. celebrations, but let them always be grounded in Ada Lovelace, born Augusta Byron, was the only good history. legitimate child of the poet Lord Byron. A sickly girl, she was privately tutored. Lovelace developed a sur- prising (for girls at the time) interest in mathematics, which her mother encouraged because she thought LEN SHUSTEK it would prevent her daughter from developing what CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES she saw as her estranged husband’s insanity. Lovelace met computer inventor Charles Bab- bage when she was 18, and it changed her life. She understood and helped explain what his Analytical Engine could do. She collaborated on algorithms for it to compute mathematical functions. She even saw 1 Thomas Haigh and Mark Priestly, “Innovators As- semble: Ada Lovelace, Walter Isaacson, and the Superhero- ines of Computing,” Communi- cations of the ACM, vol. 58, no. 9 (September 2015): 20–27. ON EXPANDING LETTER FROM THE CEO OUR REACH Fiscal 2015 was a year of major expansion for the Our education team expanded our landmark Computer History Museum. We built on the sub- middle-school initiative, Broadcom Presents stantial momentum we’ve experienced in the fi ve fi s- Design_Code_Build, in partnership with the cal years since the opening of Revolution: The First Broadcom Foundation, and began ramping up its 2000 Years of Computing and saw our mission- efforts toward an eventual 50-week program by oriented work expand on almost every front. 2017. Our Revolutionaries series continued to draw The highlight of the year was a lightning-quick some of the most engaging and impactful fi gures in fundraising campaign that raised $4 million in six computing worldwide, and our broadcast partners months to acquire the Museum’s third building: the at kqed Public Television renewed Revolutionaries Shustek Center in Fremont. The 50,000-square-foot for a fi fth consecutive tv season. At the end of building will house the Museum’s growing software fy15 we were also preparing for expansion to the collection and serve as a hub for a newly expanded bbc World Service and the wgbh world channel strategy in research, writing, and scholarship within on digital platforms. the fi eld of software history. The center is named for All of this work expanded our mandate to use our founder and chairman, Len Shustek, and history as a platform for exploring computing’s the fundraising campaign attracted broad participa- technological, economic, and societal impact—and tion from dozens of individuals who respect and the implications in all of those areas for the future. appreciate all that Len has done for the Museum Our donors, our members, and our dedicated since its inception. volunteers played a leading role in this effort. We initiated a series of beta programs this year in They joined with our talented staff and our highly support of a new center on innovation and entrepre- engaged Board of Trustees in continuing to build neurship that will launch in fi scal 2016. Executive the Museum into an institution with a rising reputa- Director Marguerite Gong Hancock has joined us tion, both nationally and internationally. On their from the Stanford Graduate School of Business to behalf, and on behalf of the entire Museum commu- head the effort. We were pleased to welcome Mar- nity, I extend my heartfelt and profound thanks. guerite, who enjoys an international reputation in the fi eld, and are planning a major, long-term effort Yours sincerely, within the center to examine innovation in Silicon Valley and around the world. Our exhibitions team inaugurated two temporary exhibits this fi scal year, including Fearless Genius, a brilliant photo essay by Doug Menuez, and On You, a fascinating exhibit about wearable computing. These exhibits engaged new and returning visitors in our expansive lobby area for major portions of the JOHN C. HOLLAR year. Attendance achieved record highs during each PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER exhibit period. Our collections team, working with two major grants, accelerated the processing of our world-leading collection and the careful pruning of our archives. VVW FY15 HIGHLIGHTS 110,000 375Visitors to exhibits 15 Events as Silicon Valley’s premier venue Revolutionaries events re-broadcasted on public television and radio 130,000+ 127Social media followers 32%Countries represented 2 Increase in Museum visitors Exhibits: On You and Fearless Genius 2.5M Website sessions 11,000 Attendees at Museum events 3 New Fellows: 54 Evelyn Berezin, Charles Bachman, and Bjarne Stroustrup Revolutionaries programs staged EXHIBITION UPDATE On July 7, 2014, the Museum opened Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985–2000. It featured photographs by renowned documentary photographer Doug Menuez. In his 15 years of unprecedented behind-the- scenes access to Apple, Kleiner Perkins, Adobe, and other iconic Silicon Valley organizations, Menuez captures a pivotal moment in the Valley’s history as the computing industry began its transition from analog to digital. This exhibit chronicled the rise of pioneering innovators like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Charles Geschke, and John Doerr, while shining an often forgotten spotlight on the banal mo- ments that frequented offi ce life and the everyday men and women who toiled to turn the digital dream into reality, often at great personal sacrifi ce and struggle. Menuez seeks to document all aspects of the human experience from this unique moment in Silicon Valley’s history. This exhibit was made possible through the generosity of: © DOUG MENUEZ / CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES / STANFORD UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES EXHIBITION UPDATE On June 30, 2015, the Computer History Museum and Georgia Tech partnered to show an exhibit of wear- able technology titled On You: A Story of Wearable Computing, curated by Clint Zeagler and Thad Starner from Georgia Institute of Technology. Pioneers have experimented with wearing computers for half a century. Yet aside from a few specialized apps, like fi tness trackers, our bodies remain largely free of the smart tech that fi lls our pockets and purses. Why? Besides larger questions around how wearable computing might fi t into our everyday lives, the tech- nology wasn’t ready—until recently. Early devices were too bulky, hot, isolated, or hard to use. And yet, the promise of being able to navigate information seamlessly, every- where, inspired researchers to keep working on those issues for more than two decades as chips, batteries, and interfaces improved. Showing consumer, professional, and homemade devices, On You explored the four key technical hurdles to making a consumer wearable computer: power and heat, net- working, mobile input, and display. This exhibit was made possible through the generosity of: FELLOW AWARDS From left to right: Uday Kapoor, Doug Fairbairn, Jeff Katz, and Federico Faggin enjoy the cocktail reception. On Saturday, April 25, 2015, the Museum rolled out the red carpet to celebrate the remarkable contributions of its 2015 Fellow Award honorees: database pioneer Charles Bachman, computer designer and entrepreneur Evelyn Berezin, and C++ inventor Bjarne Stroustrup. Evelyn Berezin was nominated for her early work in computer design and a lifetime of entrepreneurial activity. Charles Bachman was nominated for his early work on developing database management systems. Bjarne Stroustrup was nominated for his invention of the C++ programming language. Fellow Evelyn Berezin during acceptance speech. TOP 10 ARTIFACTS NEC PC-FX game console, Jacoby to create images Oculus,VR LLC, Oculus Rift IBM Roadrunner of terminals allowed both Japan, 1994 of computer installations DK2, VR Head-Mounted supercomputer Tri-blade local and remote mainframe in the early 1960s, includ- Display Dev.