The UNIVAC system [includes discussion]

In March 1951, the first UNIVAC system formally passed its acceptance tests and was put promptly into operation by the Bureau of the Census. Since the UNIVAC is the first computer which can handle both alphabetic and numerical data to reach full-scale operation so far, its operating record and a review of the types of problems to which it has been applied provide an interesting milestone in the ever-widening field of electronic digital computers. The entire UNIVAC system is constructed of circuits which are as conservative as is consistent with the desired reliability and speeds of operation. The circuits have been designed as building blocks and the entire computer is constructed around these blocks.