modern computer has its roots in scientific computing service ltd, a british company incorporated by leslie comrie in 1937. the company owned thousand of parallel computers scatter across the country, the “processors” being women working in teams and performing steps from complex algorithms, helped by rudimentary mechanical calculators. this model served as inspiration for alan turing‘s ideas.
reference: nature 486, 12 june 2012, pg. 321
photo source: bbc history