The ENIAC was first put to practical use on December 10, 1945. It was designed to calculate artillery firing tables for the United States Army but initially ran a program related to the feasibility study of the thermonuclear weapon. The public unveiling of ENIAC took place later, on February 15, 1946, when it was formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania. Key points:
- ENIAC completion: 1945
- First practical use: December 10, 1945
- Formal public dedication: February 15, 1946
- Originally built for the U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratory
- First program was a classified study for the hydrogen bomb feasibility
These details highlight the date ENIAC first served a practical computational purpose just after its completion in late 1945.
