Article by Ayman Alheraki on January 11 2026 10:37 AM
When we look back at the early days of modern computing in the 1940s, we find ourselves facing an inspiring story that wasn’t a mere coincidence. It was the result of accumulated intellectual and engineering efforts, combined with deep logical thinking that helped launch an information revolution that changed the world. While the invention of the first programmable computer is tied to remarkable feats in engineering and mathematics, a deeper and more fundamental question arises: Who wrote the first program in history? And how?
In 1945, the first fully electronic, programmable digital computer was introduced: ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer). It was developed by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert at the University of Pennsylvania, funded by the U.S. Army to perform complex ballistic calculations during World War II.
This machine was a technological marvel: built with vacuum tubes, weighing more than 27 tons, and containing over 17,000 electronic valves. It required an entire room to operate.
But hardware alone wasn’t enough. The ENIAC needed a program—a set of instructions—to make it function as a giant calculator performing precise computations. This is where names often left out of the spotlight come into play.
Some historians consider Augusta Ada Lovelace, who lived in the 19th century, to have written the first algorithm intended for a machine (Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine—which was never built). For this, she is often recognized as the first programmer in history.
However, the first actual program ever executed on a real computer was written in 1945 by a group of brilliant women who were not properly credited at the time. Among them:
Kay McNulty
Betty Jennings
Betty Snyder
Marlyn Wescoff
Frances Bilas
Ruth Lichterman
These women, known today as the ENIAC Programmers, were responsible for designing and implementing the very first programs executed by the ENIAC, manually configuring it by plugging cables and adjusting switches—a kind of physical programming.
The first program written and executed on ENIAC was developed to calculate ballistic trajectories—complex mathematical equations used to predict the path of artillery shells based on launch angle, velocity, wind direction, air pressure, and other variables.
Such calculations could take days if done manually. But with ENIAC and the program these women wrote, they were completed in seconds—a revolutionary breakthrough for wartime operations.
ENIAC didn’t have what we now call RAM, a hard drive, or programming languages like C++ or Python. Programming the machine involved:
Patch cables to connect logic units and determine data flow.
Switches to set numerical parameters.
Wiring boards to configure the logical flow of instructions.
Any program change required hours or even days of rewiring and manual reconfiguration. Programming was more akin to electrical engineering than writing code.
For many years, the contributions of these women were overlooked, despite the fact that they wrote the first real program executed on the first electronic computer. Thankfully, recent historical efforts have begun to correct this injustice, and we now recognize the ENIAC programmers as true pioneers of computing.
The first program in computing history wasn’t written in a conventional language, nor stored in a digital file. It was the result of brilliant minds and the dedication of a group of women who physically configured the machine to solve a real problem. This story reminds us that programming, at its core, is not just about typing code—it’s about solving problems, using the tools available, no matter how primitive or advanced.
Understanding this chapter in history restores our appreciation for the foundational work that made the digital world possible.