IBM 704

E680643

mainframe computer vacuum-tube computer

The IBM 704 was a pioneering 1950s vacuum-tube mainframe computer notable for its support of floating-point arithmetic and its influential role in early high-level programming languages and computer architecture.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
IBM 704 canonical	1
IBM 704 Data Processing System	1
IBM 709	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T7664696 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: IBM 704
Context triple: [MIX, inspiredBy, IBM 704]

A. IBM 650
The IBM 650 was an early, widely used mid-1950s drum-based decimal computer that helped popularize electronic data processing in business and education.
B. UNIVAC I
UNIVAC I was one of the earliest commercial electronic computers, pioneering large-scale data processing for government and business in the early 1950s.
C. IBM 604
The IBM 604 was an early electromechanical electronic calculating punch introduced in the late 1940s, notable for being one of IBM’s first mass-produced programmable calculators used widely in business and scientific data processing.
D. PDP-1
The PDP-1 was an early 1960s minicomputer famous for its interactive computing capabilities and for running some of the first video games, including "Spacewar!".
E. EDVAC
EDVAC was one of the earliest electronic stored-program computers, pioneering the use of binary arithmetic and influencing the development of modern computer architecture.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: IBM 704
Target entity description: The IBM 704 was a pioneering 1950s vacuum-tube mainframe computer notable for its support of floating-point arithmetic and its influential role in early high-level programming languages and computer architecture.

A. IBM 650
The IBM 650 was an early, widely used mid-1950s drum-based decimal computer that helped popularize electronic data processing in business and education.
B. UNIVAC I
UNIVAC I was one of the earliest commercial electronic computers, pioneering large-scale data processing for government and business in the early 1950s.
C. IBM 604
The IBM 604 was an early electromechanical electronic calculating punch introduced in the late 1940s, notable for being one of IBM’s first mass-produced programmable calculators used widely in business and scientific data processing.
D. PDP-1
The PDP-1 was an early 1960s minicomputer famous for its interactive computing capabilities and for running some of the first video games, including "Spacewar!".
E. EDVAC
EDVAC was one of the earliest electronic stored-program computers, pioneering the use of binary arithmetic and influencing the development of modern computer architecture.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (58)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	mainframe computer ⓘ vacuum-tube computer ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	IBM 704 Data Processing System ⓘ linked to: IBM 704
announced	1954 ⓘ
architecture	36-bit architecture ⓘ
clockSpeed	approximately 40 kHz effective ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
designedFor	large scientific and technical institutions ⓘ
discontinued	1960 ⓘ
firstShipment	1955 ⓘ
hasFeature	drum storage (optional) ⓘ hardware floating-point unit ⓘ magnetic tape I/O ⓘ punched card I/O ⓘ three index registers ⓘ
influenced	IBM 709 architecture ⓘ IBM 7090 architecture ⓘ linked to: IBM 7090 early FORTRAN compiler design ⓘ index register usage in later architectures ⓘ
inputDevice	card reader ⓘ
instructionFormat	single-address instruction format ⓘ
instructionSet	binary instruction set ⓘ
introduced	1954 ⓘ
manufacturer	IBM ⓘ
memoryCapacity	4096 words ⓘ 8192 words ⓘ
memoryCycleTime	12 microseconds ⓘ
memoryType	magnetic core memory ⓘ
notableFor	first mass-produced computer with hardware floating-point ⓘ pioneering role in scientific computing ⓘ platform for the first successful FORTRAN compiler ⓘ
numericRepresentation	sign-magnitude ⓘ
operatingMode	batch processing ⓘ
osSupport	FORTRAN Monitor System (FMS) ⓘ
outputDevice	line printer ⓘ
physicalSize	room-sized system ⓘ
powerRequirement	tens of kilowatts ⓘ
predecessor	IBM 701 ⓘ
primaryLanguage	FORTRAN ⓘ linked to: Fortran FORTRAN I ⓘ linked to: Fortran FORTRAN II ⓘ linked to: Fortran
storageMedium	magnetic tape ⓘ
successor	IBM 709 ⓘ linked to: IBM 7090 IBM 7090 ⓘ
supports	fixed-point arithmetic ⓘ floating-point arithmetic ⓘ index registers ⓘ
technology	vacuum tubes ⓘ
usedAt	IBM Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory ⓘ linked to: IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center Los Alamos National Laboratory ⓘ linked to: Los Alamos Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology ⓘ United States Air Force ⓘ
usedFor	aeronautical research ⓘ ballistic trajectory calculations ⓘ early artificial intelligence research ⓘ engineering calculations ⓘ scientific computing ⓘ
wordLength	36 bits ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

MIX → inspiredBy → IBM 704 ⓘ

IBM 7090 operating environment → predecessorHardware → IBM 709 ⓘ

linked to: IBM 704

IBM 704 → alsoKnownAs → IBM 704 Data Processing System ⓘ