Citizenship British Doctoral students Tom Kilburn Role Engineer | Name Frederic Williams Nationality English | |
Born Frederic Calland Williams
26 June 1911
Stockport ( 1911-06-26 ) Institutions University of Manchester
University of Oxford
Telecommunications Research Establishment Alma mater University of Manchester (BSc, MSc)
Magdalen College, Oxford (DPhil) Thesis Problems of spontaneous oscillation in electrical circuits (1936) Known for Williams-Kilburn tube
Manchester Baby
Manchester computers Died August 11, 1977, Manchester, United Kingdom Education University of Oxford, University of Manchester Awards Hughes Medal, Faraday Medal | ||
Sir Frederic Calland Williams, CBE, FRS (26 June 1911 in Stockport – 11 August 1977 in Manchester), known as 'F.C. Williams' or (less often) 'Freddie Williams', was an English engineer.
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Education
Williams was educated at Stockport Grammar School and the Victoria University of Manchester where he was awarded Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees. He went on to receive his DPhil degree in 1936 after studying at Magdalen College, Oxford.
Research
Working at the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE), he was a substantial contributor during World War II to the development of radar.
In 1946 he was appointed as head of the Electrical Engineering Department of the University of Manchester. There, with Tom Kilburn, he pioneered the first stored-program digital computer, the Manchester Mark 1 computer.
Williams is also recognised for his invention of the Williams-Kilburn tube, an early memory device.
Awards and honours
Williams was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1950. His nomination reads