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Ferranti Mark I
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Ferranti Mark I
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Ferranti Mark I

computer
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Ferranti Mark I
Ferranti Mark I Tom Kilburn standing beside the console of the Ferranti Mark I computer, c. 1950.

The Ferranti Mark I was the first commercial computer, developed by the British electronics firm Ferranti based on the Manchester Mark I prototype. This groundbreaking machine was a full-size, stored-program computer, meaning it could store instructions in its memory, a significant advancement in computing.12

Key features of the Ferranti Mark I included a two-level store and instruction modification registers, which evolved into index registers. It also incorporated a magnetic drum for secondary storage. The development of the Ferranti Mark I was a crucial step in making computers accessible beyond research institutions, with nine units sold. This innovation built upon earlier work, such as the Manchester Baby, which was the first working stored-program computer.12

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3 Britannica Sources
  1. computer - The first stored-program machines
  2. Harvard Mark I
  3. Tom Kilburn

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