The Legendary IBM 1401 Data Processing System

The IBM 1401 Data Processing System was the world's most popular computer during much of the 1960s. Announced in 1959, it was one of IBM's earliest transistorized computers. The IBM 1401 transitioned thousands of businesses and institutions to stored-program computing, and its tape- and disk-oriented systems freed users from the decades-long practice of storing data on punched cards. In 1965, half of all computers were IBM 1401s or members of its family. Figure 1 shows a tape-oriented 1401 system from the 1960s.