The First Computer Bug

The First Computer Bug

Common lore says the use of the word “bug” to indicate a technical malfunction dates back to 1947.

In September of that year, U.S. Naval Captain Grace Murray Hopper was working on the “granddaddy of modern computers,” Harvard University’s Mark II.

Hopper and her team experienced a series of glitches. Some quick troubleshooting showed that the problem was mechanical.

Hopper opened up the machine and, after a quick inspection, found a two-inch moth trapped in Panel F between the points of Relay #70.

Things promptly improved after Hopper successfully “debugged” the equipment.

Is the Moth Story True?
Yes, the moth story is true. The proof comes from the Dahlgren, Virginia, Naval Surface Warfare Center Computer Museum. Taped to a page in the team’s log book is the actual moth followed by the handwritten quip, “First actual case of bug being found.”

What’s not true is that it’s the source of using the word “bug” to describe a technical problem (though it may be the first reference to a computer bug). Grace Hopper herself tells us that the term was used during WWII to describe hitches in radar electronics.

An electrical handbook from 1896 tells us that the word bug “is used ... to designate any fault or trouble in the connections or working of electric apparatus.” By the way, that book is available as a free Google eBook and is called New Catechism of Electricity by Nehemiah Hawkins.

The Original Bug

Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison

Where does using the word bug to describe a technical glitch come from? Etymonline’s bug entry says it “may have been coined c. 1878 by Thomas Edison.” It may not have been Edison himself, but using the word bug to refer to a fault was common in his lab.

Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was actually coined by Nikola Tesla – the true source of many of “Edison’s” innovations.