WHAT:
Automatic Computing Engine (ACE)
WHERE:
NPL, Hampton Rd, Teddington, TW11 0LW, UK
LOCATION:
WHEN:
1946
WHO:
Alan Turing
DETAILS:
The Automatic Computing Engine (ACE) was one of the earliest electronic stored‑program computers, designed at the National Physical Laboratory by pioneering mathematician Alan Turing. Work on ACE began in the mid‑1940s, and the prototype known as the Pilot ACE ran its first program in 1950. At the time, it was one of the fastest computers in the world and introduced key design principles that influenced the future of computing. Although the full ACE was never completed, the project laid crucial foundations for modern computer architecture and demonstrated NPL’s role at the forefront of digital innovation.
LINKS:
The National Physical Laboratory Teddington – Garden Party 13th September 2025
The National Physical laboratory was set up 125 years ago. It has gone on to nurture an incredible array of scientists and researchers with some world changing inventions to their names. On the 13th of September there will be no fewer than FOUR World Origin Site plaques on display before they are put up permanently. Four is an incredible achievement but there are more already in discussion. Here are their first four plaques fresh from the foundry. See link to book for this event
