The Williams tube, or the Williams–Kilburn tube named after inventors Freddie Williams and Tom Kilburn, is an early form of computer memory. It was the first random-access digital storage device, and was used successfully in several early computers.
James Pomerene with a Williams–Kilburn tube, a 5CP1A cathode ray tube, used in the memory array of the IAS computer circa 1951
Williams–Kilburn tube from an IBM 701 at the Computer History Museum, in Mountain View, California
Memory pattern on SWAC Williams tube CRT
A Williams–Kilburn tube
Tom Kilburn was an English mathematician and computer scientist. Over his 30-year career, he was involved in the development of five computers of great historical significance. With Freddie Williams he worked on the Williams–Kilburn tube and the world's first electronic stored-program computer, the Manchester Baby, while working at the University of Manchester. His work propelled Manchester and Britain into the forefront of the emerging field of computer science.
Tom Kilburn
Replica of the Baby at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
The Kilburn Building, home of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Manchester is named in honour of Tom Kilburn.
Memorial plaque commemorating Kilburn
