IBM develops the Vacuum Tube Multiplier, a milestone in the computer industry's march from electromechanical to electronic machines. This experimental machine was the first complete machine ever to perform arithmetic electronically, substituting vacuum tubes for electric relays. By adapting vacuum tubes, used then primarily in the radio industry, to calculators, engineers were able to process information thousands of times faster than previously possible.
The use of safety glasses and safety shoes is adopted in IBM manufacturing departments.
