ABSTRACT
The career of Frances E. (Betty) Snyder Holberton, the lead author of SP 399, NBS FORTRAN Test Programs, closely tracks the evolution of information technology (IT) for the four decades following World War II. Her work at NBS and her leadership in preparing this landmark publication are best understood in the context of her earlier career. The chapter describes the NBS FORTRAN Test Programs, relating the context in which the publication appeared, its impact on science, technology, and the general public, and brief details about the lives and work of the author. Her first work remains perhaps the most notable: she was a member of the first team of programmers (composed of six women) to work on the ENIAC, the first operational, general purpose, electronic digital computer. ENIAC was built at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.
