Z4 (computer)

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The Z4 computer was the world's first commercial digital computer, designed by German engineer Konrad Zuse and built by his company Zuse KG.

It was delivered to ETH Zürich, Switzerland, in September 1950. In 1954, the Z4 was transferred to the Institut Franco-Allemand des Recherches de St. Louis in France, where it was in use until 1959. Today, the Z4 is on display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

The Z4 inspired the ETH to build its own computer (mainly by Ambrosius P. Speiser), which was called ERMETH, an acronym for "Elektronische Rechenmaschine ETH" (i.e. Electronic Computing Machine ETH).

In 1950/1951 the Z4 was the only working digital computer in continental Europe, and the first digital computer in the world to be sold, beating the Ferranti Mark I by five months and the UNIVAC I by ten months. Other computers, all numbered with a leading Z, were built by Zuse and his company. Notable are the Z11, which was sold to the optics industry and to universities, and the Z22, the first computer with a memory based on magnetic storage.

The Z4 was used for calculations for work on the Grande Dixence Dam.

By 1967, the Zuse KG had built a total of 251 computers. Due to financial problems, the company was then sold to Siemens.

Quotation:
"The rattling of the Z4 is the only interesting thing about the Zürich night life." (Konrad Zuse)