From Invention to Production: The Development of Punched-card Machines by F. R. Bull and K. A. Knutsen 1918-1930

Punched-card machines were in a number of ways predecessors to computers. The punched-card technique was invented in the United States in the 1880s by Herman Hollerith, who continued development for another two decades. His firm later became the main component of IBM. Only two main competitors to Hollerith emerged, Powers in the United States and Bull first in Norway and later in France. This article covers the development of the Bull machines in the Norwegian period, 1918- 1930.