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Unix was developed by AT&T during the 1970’s. Let's take a quick look at how AT&T started its research lab, Bell Lab. This lab fostered the growth of: radio astronomy, the transistor, the laser, information theory, the Unix OS, and the C/C++ programming language. Employees of this lab won eight Nobel Prizes for their discoveries.
Three years after Alexander Graham Bell’s death, AT&T created the Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1925. It is referred to as the “Idea Factory.” Over 4000 engineers and scientists from varying departments were assigned to a new building in Murray Hill, New Jersey.This building was named the Bell Lab.
The Bell Lab core rose out of Volta Laboratory and Bureau. Volta was founded by Alexander Graham Bell. Volta Lab focused on the development of sound transmission for AT&T. Bell wanted to improve the quality of life for deaf individuals, too, from the research Volta Lab generated. Volta laid the early ground work for Bell Lab.
Bell Labs was founded and co-owned by Western Electric and AT&T. These two companies created Bell Labs to focus solely on researching technology and equipment for the Bell Telephone Operating System. They created telephones, telephone switches, and other transmission equipment.
In the 1920’s Bell Lab demonstrated facsimile transmissions in the United States. Facsimile transmission was created in Europe earlier. The development of synchronized sound film arose, ending the silent film era. Long-distance television transmission was established by Herbert Ives to Secretary Of Commerce Herbert Hoover. One of the first encryption tools, one-time pad cipher, was developed by Gilbert Vernam and Joseph Mauborgne.
The 1930’s saw the development of radio astronomy. During World War II, Bell Lab developed SIGSALY that digitally scrambled Allied speech transmissions. Also, the first photovoltaic cell was developed, which laid the groundwork for solar energy. In 1947, the first transistor was developed, which then started solid-state electronics. Additionally, Claude Shannon developed information theory, which eventually gave way to modern cryptography using various calculators.
During the 1950’s, the Lab developed electronic music created by computers, and improved equipment for the Bell Telephone System. The first transatlantic phonecall between Scotland and Newfoundland was established. Computer network design thrived under Robert Prim and Joe Kruskal through contributions from their mathematical expertise. In 1958, the laser was first described in a technical paper by Art Schawlow and Charles Townes.
Next month, Linux Loopback will cover Bell Labs history from the 1960’s to the present.