Small-scale experimental machine
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Kilburn_Williams_Plaque_cropped.jpg/220px-Kilburn_Williams_Plaque_cropped.jpg)
Blue plaque in the University of Manchester
The Small-Scale Experimental Machine was the first computer based on the Von Neumann architecture , built with tubes .
It was developed from 1945 at the Victoria University of Manchester by Frederic Calland Williams , Tom Kilburn and Geoff Tootill to investigate phenomena of the Williams tube . This became usable as storage after Williams developed a method in 1946 to regenerate the storage within milliseconds. In June 1948 it was proven that both program and working memory can be kept in the computer memory .
From this the prototype of the later Manchester Mark I developed .
Web links
Commons : Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine - collection of pictures, videos and audio files