Once a year the computer industry comes together to celebrate these amazing machines!
Global Events and Celebrations on World Computer Day 2026
Featured Event: Sunday, February 15th, 1PM - 5PM eastern USA time at Helicopter Museum and Virtually on line.
Welcome to World Computer Day 2026
This event is organized by Compuseum and hosted at the American Helicopter Museum and Education center, West Chester Pennsylvania, USA.
Sunday, February 15th, 2026 is World Computer Day
Celebrate computing and the people who make IT happen, worldwide
Watch Recorded Event Here on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYEVmqGhVxo
The theme this year is the 80th Anniversary of the ENIAC, the world's first all electronic, programmable computer.
Re: 80th Anniversary Celebration of ENIAC
American Helicopter Museum, West Chester, PA
February 15th, 2026 (Sunday)
Starting at museum open at 1PM (EST).
Video Presentation runs two hours from 2PM-4PM (EST) in the museum Auditorium,
Afterwards is 1 hour duration meet and greet.
Museum closes at 5PM (EST).
This is also a virtual/online/hybrid event on the Zoom Platform.
Invitations via Helicopter Museum and Compuseum
$20 per person for Museum Entry. Zoom attendees no charge, Registration Required.
Event Title: ENIAC Founders, Families and Futures - 80 Years On
Presentation on Zoom and in Auditorium
Kickoff By:
Paul Kahan (CEO- Helicopter Museum) 2 minutes
Jim Scherrer (CEO- Compuseum) 2 minutes
Keynote - Kathy Kleiman - "The Incredible People of the ENIAC Team: Why We Still Celebrate Them 80 Years Later." A Deep Dive Into Proving Ground People by Author- "Proving Grounds; The Untold Story of the Six Women Who Programmed the World's First Modern Computer." Purchase Book here: https://a.co/d/0eu2p78z (Confirmed - In person)
Brian Stuart - "The ENIAC in Context"
A deep technical dive into how the master programmer makes the ENIAC satisfy the criteria necessary for universality in the Turing sense and to clarify the relationship between Turing's work and that of Mauchly and Eckert. (Confirmed - In Person)
Paul Ceruzzi - "Perspective on ENIAC, 80 years On" Author "A New History of Modern Computing" book along with Tom Haigh. (Confirmed Virtual)
Tom Burick - "How Today's High School Students built a full sized replica of ENIAC, from scratch!" IT Instructor, PS Academy, Arizona. Also, presentation by student leader Ethan Myers. (Confirmed, In Person)
Bill Mauchly - "Giant Brain Takes Over the World" the story we can never let go of. Bill is from First Family of Computing - Son of John Mauchly and Kathleen "Kay" McNulty Mauchly (Confirmed, In Person)
Chris Eckert - "Recollections of My Dad" First Family of Computing - Son of J. Presper Eckert (Confirmed, Virtual)
Gini Mauchly - "What Kay McNulty would Tell you about How to Be Successful." First Family of Computing - Daughter of John Mauchly and Kathleen "Kay" McNulty Mauchly (Confirmed, In Person)
Naomi Most - "Did my IT career result from my DNA" Granddaughter of Kay McNulty (Confirmed, Virtual)
Dr. Tim Bartik - "Recollections of My Mother". Son of Jean Jennings Bartik, 1st ENIAC Programmer (Confirmed, Virtual)
Jeffrey Yost - "The ENIAC's Unveiling: Shaping Metaphors and Meanings in Computing" Director, Charles Babbage Institute for Computing, Information & Culture (Confirmed, In Person)
Paul Shaffer - "How the ENIAC made Quadrotor Drones Possible; From Vacuum Tubes to Vertical Flight" ENIAC Historian at PENN- (Confirmed, In Person)
Kenneth Chaney "See PENN's Supercomputer" with Associate Director of AI and Technology for PARCC - Visitors will see the Betty Holberton supercomputer at PENN (named after Betty Holberton, ENIAC programmer) https://parcc.upenn.edu/systems/betty/
(Confirmed, On Site)
Q&A Session - 10 Minutes - Audience asks Questions directed to speakers. Moderated by Jim Scherrer and Kathy Kleiman
Show & Tell - See quadcopter, ENIAC 3D models and members can show off their ENIAC equipment or memorabilia.
Wrap Up Thank you from - Jim Scherrer (Compuseum); Paul Kahan (Helicopter Museum)
1 hour "ENIAC Cake" party at the museum (4-5PM) then after-party.
SPEAKERS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Kathy Kleiman, Senior Fellow, Programs on Tech, Law & Security and Information Justice and Intellectual Property, American University Washington College of Law, Author of "Proving Ground," and Founder of the ENIAC Programmers Project. Twenty years of work at ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) to research the structure and balance of private Internet governance systems, privacy & Internet technologies. If you loved Hidden Figures or The Rise of the Rocket Girls, you'll love Kleimans' breakthrough book on the women who brought you the computer age--written out of history, until now. Purchase Book here: https://a.co/d/0eu2p78z
Brian Stuart, PhD is a professor of Computer Science at Drexel University. He hold a BS from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, an MS from the University of Notre Dame, and a PhD from Purdue University. His primary research for the past ten years has been uncovering the details of the design, operation, and programming of the ENIAC.
Paul Ceruzzi is Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. He has published extensively on topics in the history of computing and aerospace. His most recent publications include "GPS: a Concise History," "Computing: A Concise History"--both part of MIT Press's Essential Knowledge Series, And, with Tom Haigh, "A New History of Modern Computing."
Tom Burick - Teacher at PS Academy in Gilbert, Arizona. PS Academy is a private high school for students with autism and other exceptionalities. which offers customized programs, clubs and electives, and ability-based learning with a focus on social skills improvement. Thomas Burick is a technology educator and lifelong builder who led a student team in reconstructing ENIAC at full scale, using the world’s first electronic computer as a hands-on lesson in precision, repetition, and large-scale engineering.
Ethan Myers is a dedicated student at PS Academy with a strong interest in learning and personal growth. He is known for his curiosity, positive attitude, and willingness to take on new challenges. Ethan enjoys developing his skills both inside and outside the classroom and is motivated to work toward his academic and future goals.
Bill Mauchly is the son of John W. Mauchly and Kathleen "Kay" McNulty, two pioneers whose work on ENIAC, UNIVAC, and early programming helped define the very foundations of modern computing. As part of the "first family of computers," Bill has carried forward that legacy through a career that bridges advanced technology, digital creativity, and the preservation of computing history.
Gini Mauchly Calcerano is the Senior Director of Research and Data Management in the Office of Institutional Advancement at Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, where her mom, an ENIAC programmer, earned her degree in mathematics. She is the daughter of John W. Mauchly and Kay McNulty, whose pioneering work on ENIAC, UNIVAC, and early programming helped define the very foundations of modern computing. As part of the "first family of computers," Gini has carried forward that legacy.
Naomi Most, granddaughter of John Mauchly and Kay McNulty, is a social systems debugger. She helps R&D and engineering orgs move beyond process ruts and unlock real innovation. She is an IT practitioner that builds the invisible frameworks that help technical teams break through creative bottlenecks and rediscover their spark. Naomi had a background spanning software engineering, systems thinking, and organizational anthropology
Tim Bartik, PhD is a senior economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, a non-profit and non-partisan research organization in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His research focuses on state and local economic development policies and local labor markets. At the Upjohn Institute, Dr. Bartik co-directs the Institute’s research initiative on place-based policies.
Jeffrey R. Yost is Director, Charles Babbage Institute and Research Professor, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, University of Minnesota. He has published nine books. His four most recent books are Just Code: Power, Inequality and the Political Economy of IT (co-edited with G. Con Diaz, JHU Press); Making IT Work: A History of the Computer Services Industry (MIT Press); Computer: A History of the Information Machine 4th ed. (co-authored, Routledge); and FastLane: Managing Science in the Internet World (co-authored with Tom Misa, JHU Press). He co-edits Studies in Computing Culture book series for Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Press.
Paul Shaffer is the ENIAC Historian at the University of Pennsylvania, where he serves as a steward and interpreter of the world’s first general-purpose electronic digital computer. He has spent more than three decades championing the ENIAC artifact - researching its history, preserving its story, and translating its technical significance. A helicopter pilot, Paul brings an aviator’s perspective on systems, risk, and disciplined procedure to his work in technology and public history. He is also a commercial UAS (drone) instructor. Paul is known for making ENIAC both legible and vivid: not only as a landmark machine, but as a human achievement shaped by ingenuity, constraint, and collaboration. As ENIAC approaches its 80th anniversary in 2026, he continues to help ensure the machine’s technical and cultural impact remains accurately understood, widely shared, and meaningfully remembered.
Kenneth Chaney, PhD is the Associate Director of AI and Technology at the Penn Advanced Research Computing Center (PARCC), where he helps the deployment of Betty—Penn’s university-wide HPC + AI platform built to scale modern research workloads across campus. Betty’s flagship AI and HPC systems provide not only a doubling of the total compute capacity at the University of Pennsylvania, but also enable new avenues of exploration through scaling the largest computational experiments possible on campus. Prior to taking this role, Kenneth received his PhD from the computer science department at the University of Pennsylvania where his research focused on deploying biologically inspired AI systems.
REFERENCES & SUGGESTED READING
A New History of Modern Computing: Co-Author Dr. Thomas Haigh and Paul Ceruzzi Purchase book here: https://a.co/d/0ighKnFX
Proving Grounds; Author: Kathy Kleiman - Purchase Book here: https://a.co/d/01pSFoIG
Computer: A History of the Information Machine. Link to Amazon:
https://z.umn.edu/Computer_A_History
How Students Built a Replica of ENIAC. PC Magazine 2026
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If you come in person you can meet people, watch 3D animation of the ENIAC, meet book authors, purchase special books, see special exhibits and eat ENIAC CAKE!
Special Note: This event is Coincident with Americas Semiquincentennial! (250th) Watch Here: https://www.britannica.com/video/how-to-pronounce-semiquincentennial-and-what-it-means/-326853
Join on social media at: https://linktr.ee/worldcomputerday
The Social Media post is Hashtag #WorldComputerDay #ENIAC80th and #ENIACDay
Featured on World Computer Day 2026
Location Map of ENIAC as Presented on World Computer Day 2026
Here's a little location map to keep you oriented.
ENIAC Invention, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Burroughs Corporation, Great Valley area, Pennsylvania
RCA Selectron Memory tube, Lancaster, PA
Philco Transac, Lansdale, PA
Illiav IV, Paoli, PA
The System Source Computer Museum displays technology from the inception of computing in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
NEWS COVERAGE FOR 80TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT BY COMPUSEUM, FEB 15TH, 2026
ABC News
Link for ABC News Coverage of ENIAC 80th Here:
https://youtu.be/Qb2afLoljf8?si=HG7Ba_n1imglTSos
CBS News Broadcast
Link for CBS News Coverage of ENIAC 80th Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHkeSzdNf2k
CBS Article on ENIAC 80th Celebrations
https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/eniac-computer-history-penn-philadelphia/
Students Create Full Sized ENIAC
https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/21/eniac_model_build/
Chester County Economic Development Corp- ITAG
https://www.mychesco.com/a/news/technology/eniac-at-80-west-chester-museum-celebrates-birth-of-the-computer-age/
Germany, Paderborn - Heinz Nixdorf Museum
https://blog.hnf.de/eniac-auf-deutsch/
Computer History Archives Project- 7 Steps to Start Up ENIAC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPiXi7CUNU4
Technical.ly Philly - America at 250, ENIAC at 80
https://technical.ly/entrepreneurship/eniac-80th-anniversary-philadelphia-computing/
PENN 80th Celebration - Paul Shaffer - Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DUyBOxIADVi/
Tom's Hardware News Item - ENIAC 80th
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/eniac-the-worlds-first-general-purpose-digital-computer-turns-80-years-old-today-legendary-hulking-machine-was-1-000x-faster-than-its-nearest-rival
Reddit - ENIAC 80TH
https://www.reddit.com/r/singularity/comments/1pizpks/80_years_ago_there_was_eniac_the_first/
PENN Today - ENIAC 80th
https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penns-eniac-worlds-first-electronic-computer-turns-80
Lviv Ukraine British School - ENIAC 80th - World Computer Day
https://www.lvivbritish.school/en/world-computer-day/
RECORDING OF THE EVENT AT HELICOPTER MUSEUM 2/15/2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYEVmqGhVxo
National Geographic Publishes on World Computer Day: How Supercomputers Changed the World. National Geographic - 2025
How supercomputers paved the way for laptops and chatbots
Enormous dimensions, complicated military calculations, and thousands of vacuum tubes—this was the early supercomputer.
Engineer Thomas Kite Sharpless gives a demonstration of the EDVAC at the University of Pennsylvania.
Getty Images
By Editors of National Geographic
February 13, 2025
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/worlds-first-supercomputers-photos
Events Around the Globe on World Computer Day!
Send us Your Event Details
Events and celebrations are held around the globe on World Computer Day. Feel free to send us news of your event and we'll publish it here. Small, medium and large sized events are all special; so send them in!
- Seminars
- Lunch Meetings
- Webinars
- Parties
- Staff Promotions
- Fun Events
Social Media Posts for World Computer Day 2026 - Use Hashtag #WorldComputerDay and #ENIAC80th
Learn More about Computers
Order this book, now!
Proving Ground: The Untold Story of the Six Women Who Programmed the World's First Modern Computer – July 25, 2023 by Kathy Kleiman (Author)
Discover a fascinating look into the lives of six historic trailblazers in this World War II-era story of the American women who programmed the world's first modern computer.
After the end of World War II, the race for technological supremacy sped on. Top-secret research into ballistics and computing, begun during the war to aid those on the front lines, continued across the United States as engineers and programmers rushed to complete their confidential assignments. Among them were six pioneering women, tasked with figuring out how to program the world's first general-purpose, programmable, all-electronic computer—better known as the ENIAC—even though there were no instruction codes or programming languages in existence.
While most students of computer history are aware of this innovative machine, the great contributions of the women who programmed it were never told—until now.
Over the course of a decade, Kathy Kleiman met with four of the original six ENIAC Programmers and recorded extensive interviews with the women about their work. Proving Ground restores these women to their rightful place as technological revolutionaries.
As the tech world continues to struggle with gender imbalance and its far-reaching consequences, the story of the ENIAC Programmers' groundbreaking work is more urgently necessary than ever before, and Proving Ground is the celebration they deserve.
Order this book, now!
A New History of Modern Computing
All there is to know about the history of computing!
A highly recommended book about how the computer became universal.
Over the past fifty years, the computer has been transformed from a hulking scientific supertool and data processing workhorse, remote from the experiences of ordinary people, to a diverse family of devices that billions rely on to play games, shop, stream music and movies, communicate, and count their steps. In A New History of Modern Computing, Thomas Haigh and Paul Ceruzzi trace these changes. A comprehensive reimagining of Ceruzzi's A History of Modern Computing, this new volume uses each chapter to recount one such transformation, describing how a particular community of users and producers remade the computer into something new.
Authors Haigh and Ceruzzi ground their accounts of these computing revolutions in the longer and deeper history of computing technology. They begin with the story of the 1945 ENIAC computer, which introduced the vocabulary of "programs" and "programming," and proceed through email, pocket calculators, personal computers, the World Wide Web, videogames, smart phones, and our current world of computers everywhere--in phones, cars, appliances, watches, and more. Finally, they consider the Tesla Model S as an object that simultaneously embodies many strands of computing.