In 1952, Fred Gruenberger, a supervisor in the Math Department computing lab(!), published the “Computing Manual” through University of Wisconsin Press. It was the first documents to show how computers could be used to do math and was used to teach students how to use IBM systems. This picture, from https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/QJKGRFVXRPDUL9A, is undated, but it seems to related directly to the breadboard schematics detailed in the Computing Manual. The Center for Computing History notes that this book is among the oldest in their collection.
“Fred Gruenberger, computer expert for half a century, author of 29 books and founder of Popular Computing magazine. Educated in mathematics at the University of Wisconsin, Gruenberger began working with computing in 1943 as a World War II cryptographer. He supervised a computing laboratory at his alma mater, worked for the Hanford Atomic Products Operation of General Electric in Richland, Wash., in the 1950s and founded Computing News. In 1957 he joined the Rand Corp. in Santa Monica, specializing in computer research. Gruenberger became a professor of computer science at Cal State Northridge in 1970, and taught there until his retirement in 1983. He founded Popular Computing in 1973 and published it for nine years, expanding its circulation to subscribers in 49 countries. He wrote more than two dozen books and textbooks detailing the ever-advancing field of data processing in the computer era. Gruenberger also produced several films and videotapes for such organizations as National Educational Television. He died in 1998 of cancer.”**
“Fred Gruenberger may well have been the first blogger on computational topics. He distributed his musings in a monthly newsletter called Popular Computing. A typical issue was 16 or 20 typewritten pages–stapled, folded, stamped and delivered by mail. It was always worth reading.
Gruenberger had been working and playing with computers since the 1940s. For a long stretch he was at the RAND Corporation, the famous think tank in Santa Monica. Later he taught at Cal State Northridge. In addition to Popular Computing he was involved in the startup of Datamation magazine and published at least a dozen books. He died in 1998.”*
(* link: Gruenberger’s prime path | bit-player)
**Obit: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-aug-28-mn-17497-story.html