Control Data Corporation Records

Engineering, Research and Development, 1957-1986.

CBI 80

Series 7

Collection Size: 44 Boxes (38.1 cubic feet)

Creator: Control Data Corporation

Prepared by: Caroline Gasser and Kevin D. Corbitt, 1998; by Maria Plonski, Josh Knatterud-Hubinger, and Katie Flanagan, 2003-2004. Updated by Karen Spilman, 2006.

Acquisition:The records were given to the Charles Babbage Institute by Ceridian Corporation in 1991.

Access: Access to the collection is unrestricted.

Copyright: The Charles Babbage Institute holds the copyright to all materials in the collection, except for items covered by a prior copyright (such as published materials). Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provisions of the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred Citation: Control Data Corporation Records, Engineering, Research and Development (CBI 80), Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Historical Note

Control Data’s early basic and applied research and development activities were conducted within a select number of divisions: Computer Division, Corporate Development, Cedar Engineering, Peripheral Division, Research Division, and System Sciences Division. By the late 1960s, the company had grown and acquired more subsidiaries and the engineering functions of the company were divided among more groups and divisions, and the structure of the company became more hierarchical and bureaucratic.

Scope and Content Note

This series documents the research, development, and engineering activities of the Control Data Corporation from 1957-1985 (bulk 1960s and 1970s).

Materials include memos, correspondence, photographs, engineering specifications and technical diagrams, as well as technical reports, articles, papers, and literature. Most technical literature has been separated from the collection and placed in the CDC Product Literature series, except for small amounts of literature found in various CDC division records. Manuals have also been separated from the collection and placed in the CDC Product Manuals series, with the exception of some preliminary or draft copies, including those which are the work of particular engineers (e.g. Jay Kershaw), or portions of records documenting the development of a specific computer system (e.g. STAR).

Well-documented portions of the collection include development of the STAR computer system (from the records of Neil R. Lincoln), and the records of engineers Jay A. Kershaw, and J.E. Thornton. Kershaw’s records include a great deal of information about the STAR and Cyber 80 systems, Worldtech(a CDC venture), Advanced Systems Laboratory (including the Integrated Product Line, and Computer Terminals of Iran), Advanced Systems Division, and the Special Systems Division. Thornton’s records reflect his work with fellow engineer, Seymour Cray, during the early years of CDC and its development of the 1604 Computer. Neil Lincoln’s records document his work at CDC in the 1960s and 1970s, and are not complete. For example, not reflected in Lincoln’s papers is his work within CDC’s supercomputer subsidiary, ETA Systems, Inc. The majority of Neil Lincoln’s records concern development of the STAR computer systems and reflect his and other engineer’s work on the project. Lincoln’s STAR records are integrated with other STAR records in this series.

Acronyms used in this finding aid:

CDC = Control Data Corporation

CTI = Computer Terminals of Iran

STAR = STring ARray

NCR = National Cash Register Company

IPL = Integrated Product Line

Arrangement of Collection

The materials in this collection are arranged into the following groups:

By Division

By Computer System

Technical Reports in Alphabetical Order

Research and Development Technical Planning and Reports

Engineers' Papers

Systems and Software Development

Index Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Computer industry – Research.

Control Data Corporation – Computer architecture.

Control Data Corporation – Computer organization.

Electronic digital computers – Design and construction.

Kershaw, Jay A.

Lincoln, Neil R.

Research and development.

Thornton, J. E. (James E.)

Related Material

CBI 80, Computer Product Manuals, Control Data Corporation Collection

CBI 80, Computer Product Literature, Control Data Corporation Collection

CBI 80, Planning Documents and Reports, Control Data Corporation

CBI 80, Research and Development Project Reports, Control Data Corporation

This is one series of the Control Data Corporation Records (CBI 80). Please see the other series finding aids for further information regarding the Control Data Corporation.

Box and Folder List

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

By Division

By Computer System

Technical Reports

Research and Development Technical Planning and Reports

Engineers' Papers

Jay A. Kershaw
Neil R. Lincoln
James E. Thornton

Systems & Software Development