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Fredrik Rosing Bull
Fredrik Rosing Bull (Norwegian: [bʉl]; 25 December 1882 – 7 June 1925) was a Norwegian scientist, information technology pioneer, known for his work on improved punched card machines. Bull was born in Kristiania (Oslo, Norway). In 1907, he finished his studies in civil engineering at the Technical School of Kristiania. In 1916, he was hired as a technical inspector for the insurance company Storebrand, where he developed an interest for punched card technology and began developing one of his own. In 1919, he obtained a patent for his machine, and in 1921 he prepared a team that took over the implementation of the machine at Storebrand. This team provided several new ideas for improving the Bull machine, rendering it superior to Herman Hollerith's device, the precursor to the IBM punched card machine, in use at that time. Bull continued to develop his ideas and improve the machine, which became a success throughout Europe. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1924 and died in 1925 at the age of 42. His patents were later sold in 1931 and constituted the basis for the founding of the French company Groupe Bull, a large information technology company operating in over 100 countries.
Fredrik Bull was born in Kristiania (the present-day Oslo) to Ole Bornemann Bull (1842–1916) and his first wife Marie Cathrine Lund (1843–1884). Dr. Ole Bull was a renowned eye doctor. He collaborated with Gerhard Armauer Hansen who discovered Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, while investigating the effects of leprosy on the eyes. He is also known for having developed a method to determine the degree of sensation of color.
Fredrik was raised in a large family. He was the eighth of fifteen children. The Bull family had a passion for technology and science: all of Fredrik's older brothers were engineers. His brother Anders Henrik Bull is known for his studies in wireless radiotelegraphy.
Fredrik Rosing Bull began his studies in civil engineering at the reputable Technical School of Kristiania (now Oslo ingeniørhøgskole) in 1904 and graduated in 1907. He scored some of the best marks in class.[citation needed]
In 1916 he was hired as a technical inspector at the insurance company Storebrand where he came into contact with the tabulating machines of those days.
The punched cards and the tabulating machines were initially developed by US engineer Herman Hollerith and were used for first time in Norway by Statistics Norway in 1894.
Fredrik Bull was sent abroad to study Hollerith's systems, returning with the conviction that Hollerith's systems were expensive and unstable.[citation needed] He was convinced that he could develop a device that was cheaper and more efficient than Hollerith's. As a result, Bull convinced his employer, Storebrand, to pay him an advance of $10,000[clarification needed] to develop a new machine. The terms of the deal required the advance to be repaid in full if the machine was not successful.[citation needed]
Bull's plan was to use electromagnetic technology like Hollerith, but with many improvements. The use of 45 column punched cards enabled the machine to read the information while making contact through the holes. This method allowed faster processing of information. The machines in use at that time required significant manual intervention to operate. Bull made several improvements to automate processing, such as standardization of punched-cards and pre-selection.
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Fredrik Rosing Bull
Fredrik Rosing Bull (Norwegian: [bʉl]; 25 December 1882 – 7 June 1925) was a Norwegian scientist, information technology pioneer, known for his work on improved punched card machines. Bull was born in Kristiania (Oslo, Norway). In 1907, he finished his studies in civil engineering at the Technical School of Kristiania. In 1916, he was hired as a technical inspector for the insurance company Storebrand, where he developed an interest for punched card technology and began developing one of his own. In 1919, he obtained a patent for his machine, and in 1921 he prepared a team that took over the implementation of the machine at Storebrand. This team provided several new ideas for improving the Bull machine, rendering it superior to Herman Hollerith's device, the precursor to the IBM punched card machine, in use at that time. Bull continued to develop his ideas and improve the machine, which became a success throughout Europe. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1924 and died in 1925 at the age of 42. His patents were later sold in 1931 and constituted the basis for the founding of the French company Groupe Bull, a large information technology company operating in over 100 countries.
Fredrik Bull was born in Kristiania (the present-day Oslo) to Ole Bornemann Bull (1842–1916) and his first wife Marie Cathrine Lund (1843–1884). Dr. Ole Bull was a renowned eye doctor. He collaborated with Gerhard Armauer Hansen who discovered Mycobacterium leprae, the causative agent of leprosy, while investigating the effects of leprosy on the eyes. He is also known for having developed a method to determine the degree of sensation of color.
Fredrik was raised in a large family. He was the eighth of fifteen children. The Bull family had a passion for technology and science: all of Fredrik's older brothers were engineers. His brother Anders Henrik Bull is known for his studies in wireless radiotelegraphy.
Fredrik Rosing Bull began his studies in civil engineering at the reputable Technical School of Kristiania (now Oslo ingeniørhøgskole) in 1904 and graduated in 1907. He scored some of the best marks in class.[citation needed]
In 1916 he was hired as a technical inspector at the insurance company Storebrand where he came into contact with the tabulating machines of those days.
The punched cards and the tabulating machines were initially developed by US engineer Herman Hollerith and were used for first time in Norway by Statistics Norway in 1894.
Fredrik Bull was sent abroad to study Hollerith's systems, returning with the conviction that Hollerith's systems were expensive and unstable.[citation needed] He was convinced that he could develop a device that was cheaper and more efficient than Hollerith's. As a result, Bull convinced his employer, Storebrand, to pay him an advance of $10,000[clarification needed] to develop a new machine. The terms of the deal required the advance to be repaid in full if the machine was not successful.[citation needed]
Bull's plan was to use electromagnetic technology like Hollerith, but with many improvements. The use of 45 column punched cards enabled the machine to read the information while making contact through the holes. This method allowed faster processing of information. The machines in use at that time required significant manual intervention to operate. Bull made several improvements to automate processing, such as standardization of punched-cards and pre-selection.