On September 9, 1947, Grace Hopper discovered the first computer bug. She was working as an operator on the Harvard Mark II computer when the operators were attempting to trace a problem in the hardware. Wedged into Relay #70 on Panel F was a large moth's body and causing a short circuit. Hopper recorded and taped the find in the logbook as "The first actual case of bug being found". This story is the source of many legends. One legend involves the year the bug was found. Most versions, including the Navy's history, has the event taking place in 1945, others, in 1947. Grace Hopper began work on the Mark II computer in 1945 and stayed at Harvard until 1949. The Smithsonian catalog records the date as 1947.
Another common legend has this story as origin of the term 'bug' to mean an error in the system. Bugs have been an engineering term for many years. Edison was quoted in 1878 using the term bugs to refer to problems arising in the engineering process. This was the first 'computer' bug and is often cited as the origin of the term 'debugging' to fix computer issues.
One last legend concerns the location of the now famous log entry, complete with moth. Most stories has the log page on display at the Smithsonian or the Naval Surface Warfare Center Computer Museum in Dahlgren, Virginia. The log was originally kept at the Naval museum but it is now on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
This story is a fun piece of early computing folklore. Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.
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