The first computer “bug”: how a moth entered IT history
On September 9, 1947, a team working with the electromechanical Harvard Mark II computer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, encountered an unusual malfunction. The cause of the failure was a moth stuck between relay contacts. The engineers removed the insect and taped it into the logbook, and one of the participants wrote: “First actual case of bug being found” — “The first real case of a found bug.”
This incident is often called the first documented computer “bug.” However, the word “bug” meaning a technical glitch appeared long before 1947. Thomas Edison used it in the 19th century to describe problems in his electrical circuits. So the moth from Harvard Mark II was not the first “bug” in history, but a vivid illustration of an already existing term.
The name of programmer Grace Hopper is closely associated with this story: she often told it in her presentations. Hopper was one of the first programmers and made significant contributions to the development of programming languages.
The journal itself with the moth glued in has survived and is now considered a valuable artifact of computing history. A photograph of the journal page, taken in 1988, was provided by the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia, and is in the public domain.
The term ‘bug’ has firmly entered the IT lexicon, and the story with the moth became a symbol of the unpredictability of technology. It reminds us that even in the exact sciences there is room for chance and irony.
Image: Image card
Primary source: www.computerhistory.org ↗