40 Years of IT

April 7, 1964, was a normal day. Lyndon Johnson was president of the United States and had already declared a war on poverty to go along with the war in Vietnam, the Beatles had four hit records in the top 10, My Fair Lady had beaten out Dr. Strangelove for best picture at the Oscars, Cassius Clay (now known as Muhammad Ali) was the heavyweight boxing champ, and Jack Nicklaus, who would win the PGA tour that year, was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Martin Luther King Jr. was still eight months from receiving his Nobel Peace Prize. Two important books were receiving final touches for publication later in the year: Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media and Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sat at a dizzying 822 5/8, and a gallon of gas cost $0.30. The word hippie had yet to be coined. Russell Crowe was born.
On that day also, a new computer was born — the IBM System/360.