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{{Short description|British computer scientist (1921–2001)}}
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{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Tom Kilburn
| honorific_suffix  = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE|FRS|size=100}}
| image             = Tom Kilburn.jpg
| alt               = 
| caption           = Kilburn in 1962
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|df=yes|1921|08|11}}
| birth_place       = [[Dewsbury]], Yorkshire, England
| death_date        = {{death date and age|df=yes|2001|1|17|1921|8|11}}
| death_place       = [[Manchester]], England
| resting_place     = 
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} -->
| residence         = 
| citizenship       = 
| fields            = 
| workplaces        = {{Plainlist|
* [[University of Manchester]]
* [[Telecommunications Research Establishment]]}}
| education         = [[Kirklees College|Wheelwright Grammar School for Boys]]
| alma_mater        = {{Plainlist|
* [[University of Cambridge]] (BA)
* [[University of Manchester]] (PhD)}}
| thesis_title      = A storage system for use with binary digital computing machines
| thesis_url        = http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.488439
| thesis_year       = 1948
| doctoral_advisor  = [[Frederic Calland Williams]]
| academic_advisors = 
| doctoral_students = 
| notable_students  = 
| known_for         = {{Plainlist|
* [[Williams tube|Williams–Kilburn tube]]
* [[Manchester Baby]]
* [[Manchester Mark 1]]
* [[Atlas (computer)|Atlas computer]]
* [[Manchester computers|MU5]]}}
| influences        = 
| influenced        = 
| awards            = {{Plainlist|
* [[Mountbatten Medal]] (1997)
* [[Royal Medal]] (1978)}}
| footnotes         = 
| spouse            = {{marriage|Irene Marsden|1943}}<ref name=whoswho>{{Who's Who | author=Anon| title=Kilburn, Prof. Tom | id = U23039 | year = 2007 | doi =10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U23039 | edition = online [[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford}}</ref>
| children = 2<ref name=whoswho/>
}}

'''Tom Kilburn''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE|FRS}} (11 August 1921 – 17 January 2001) was an English [[mathematician]] and [[computer scientist]].<ref name=whoswho/><ref name=gs>{{Google scholar id}}</ref> Over his 30-year career, he was involved in the development of five computers of great historical significance. With [[Frederic Calland Williams|Freddie Williams]] he worked on the [[Williams tube|Williams–Kilburn tube]] and the world's first electronic [[stored-program computer]], the [[Manchester Baby]], while working at the [[Victoria University of Manchester|University of Manchester]].<ref name=redhead>{{cite AV media| title = Tom Kilburn - Yorkshire's Computing Pioneer, Home Ground, Classic Interviews | url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ2EBw7AgZY | series= [[BBC Archive]]|location=London|year=1981 |website=youtube.com|first=Brian|last=Redhead|authorlink=Brian Redhead}}</ref> His work propelled Manchester and Britain into the forefront of the emerging field of computer science.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1145/1562164.1562180| title = Interview ''An'' interview with Maurice Wilkes| journal = Communications of the ACM| volume = 52| issue = 9| pages = 39–42| year = 2009| last1 = Anderson | first1 = D. P.  | s2cid = 31699280}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1109/MAHC.2009.32| title = Biographies: Tom Kilburn: A Pioneer of Computer Design| journal = IEEE Annals of the History of Computing| volume = 31| issue = 2| pages = 82–86| year = 2009| last1 = Anderson | first1 = D. P. }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/35059201| pmid = 11241994| title = Obituary: Tom Kilburn (1921–2001)| journal = Nature| volume = 409| issue = 6823| pages = 996| year = 2001| last1 = Lavington | first1 = Simon | bibcode = 2001Natur.409..996L| s2cid = 6971607| doi-access = free}}</ref>

A graduate of the [[University of Cambridge]], Kilburn worked on [[radar]] at the [[Telecommunications Research Establishment]] (TRE) in [[Malvern, Worcestershire|Malvern]] supervised by [[Frederic Calland Williams]] during the Second World War.  After the war ended, he was recruited by Williams to work on the development of computers at the University of Manchester. He led the development of a succession of innovative [[Manchester computers]] that incorporated a host of ground-breaking innovations and developments, including the [[Ferranti Mark 1]], the world's first commercial computer, and the [[Atlas (computer)|Atlas]], one of the first time-sharing multiprocessing computers that incorporated [[job scheduler|job scheduling]], [[spooling]], [[interrupt]]s, [[instruction pipelining]] and [[paging]].<ref name=lav>{{cite book|first=Simon|last=Lavington|title=A History of Manchester Computers|publisher=[[British Computer Society]]|isbn=9781902505015|year=1998|oclc=156380308|edition=2nd}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Tom Kilburn was born in Earlseaton near [[Dewsbury]], Yorkshire, on 11 August 1921,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wilkes |first1=Maurice |last2=Kahn |first2=Hilary J. |date=2003-12-01 |title=Tom Kilburn CBE FREng. 11 August 1921 – 17 January 2001 |journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society |volume=49 |pages=283–297 |doi=10.1098/rsbm.2003.0016|s2cid=71234844 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=redhead/> the only son of John William Kilburn, a wool mill clerk who later became a company secretary, and his wife, Ivy Mortimer. From 1932 to 1940,<ref name="odnb"/> he attended the [[Kirklees College|Wheelwright Grammar School for Boys]], where the headmaster encouraged his aptitude for mathematics.<ref name="cacm"/> He also played sports, notably running.<ref name="odnb"/>

In 1940, Kilburn started studying mathematics at the [[University of Cambridge]] as a student [[Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge]], funded by a state scholarship, a county major scholarship, and a minor open scholarship.<ref name="odnb"/> Although many [[university don]]s were absent performing war work at places like [[Bletchley Park]], the [[University of Cambridge]] maintained an active mathematical community, and Kilburn became the Sidney Sussex College representative in the New Pythagoreans, a clique with the Cambridge University Mathematical Society whose members included [[Gordon Welchman]] and [[Geoff Tootill]]. Due to the outbreak of the Second World War, courses were compressed to two years, and he graduated in 1942 with [[First Class Honours]] in Part I of the [[Mathematical Tripos]] and preliminary examinations for Part II.<ref name="cacm"/>

==Career and research==
On graduation, Kilburn was recruited by [[C. P. Snow]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing |issn=1058-6180 |title=Interview with Tom Kilburn |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=17–32 |doi=10.1109/MAHC.1993.10017}}</ref> He was given a quick course in [[electronics]], and was posted to the [[Telecommunications Research Establishment]] (TRE) in [[Malvern, Worcestershire|Malvern]], where he worked on [[radar]] in Group 19 under [[Frederic Calland Williams]]. The group was responsible for designing and debugging electronic circuitry. Although Williams was initially disappointed at being given someone with so little practical experience, Kilburn became a valued member of the team.<ref name="cacm"/> On 14 August 1943, he married Irene Marsden, a shop assistant. They went on to raise a son, John, and a daughter, Anne.<ref name="odnb"/>

Kilburn's wartime work inspired his enthusiasm for some form of electronic computer. The principal technical barrier to such a development at that time was the lack of any practical means of [[computer storage|storage]] for data and instructions. In July 1946, Kilburn and Williams collaboratively developed a storage device based on a [[cathode-ray tube]] (CRT) called the [[Williams–Kilburn tube]]. A patent was filed in 1946.<ref name="tube"/> Initially they used it to store a single [[bit]]. The CRT image soon faded, so they devised a scheme by which it was read and refreshed continually, effectively making the data storage permanent. By December 1947, they were able to store 2,048 bits on one {{convert|6|in|adj=on}} diameter CRT.<ref name="telegraphobit"/><ref name="bit"/>

In December 1946, Williams took up the Edward Stocks Massey Chair of [[Electrotechnics]] at the [[University of Manchester]], and recruited Kilburn on secondment from Malvern.<ref name="cacm"/> The two developed their storage technology and, in 1948, Kilburn put it to a practical test in constructing the [[Manchester Baby]], which became the first [[stored-program computer]] to run a [[computer program|program]], on 21 June 1948.<ref name="odnb"/> He received the degree of PhD in 1948 for his work at Manchester, writing his thesis on ''A storage system for use with binary digital computing machines'' under Williams's supervision.<ref name="phd"/>

===Manchester computers===
Kilburn anticipated a return to Malvern but Williams persuaded him to stay to work on the university's collaborative project developing the [[Ferranti Mark 1]], the world's first commercial computer.<ref name="ieee"/><ref name="m1"/><ref name="m2"/> [[Max Newman]] withdrew from the project, believing that the development of computers required engineers and not mathematicians at this point, but Williams preferred to return to electrotechnics, leaving Kilburn in charge.<ref name="cacm"/> He was assisted by [[Alan Turing]], who arrived at Manchester in 1948.<ref name="telegraphobit"/><ref name="Turing"/> The Mark I incorporated innovations such as [[index registers]], and combined CRTs with [[magnetic drum]] storage.<ref name="odnb"/><ref name="new"/> Nine Mark I computers were sold by between 1951 and 1957.<ref name="cacm"/>

[[File:SSEM Manchester museum.jpg|thumb|260px|right|alt=A series of seven tall metal racks filled with electronic equipment standing in front of a brick wall. Signs above each rack describe the functions carried out by the electronics they contain. Three visitors read from information stands to the left of the image.|Replica of the Baby at the [[Museum of Science and Industry (Manchester)|Museum of Science and Industry]] in Manchester]]
Over the next three decades, Kilburn led the development of a succession of innovative [[Manchester computers]].<ref name="ieee"/> The first, commenced in 1951, was a development of the Mark I known as the megacycle machine or Meg, that replaced the [[vacuum tube]] [[diode]]s with [[Solid-state electronics|solid state]] ones. This permitted an order of magnitude increase in the [[clock rate]]. To add further speed, Kilburn provided for 10-bit parallel CRT memory.<ref name="cacm"/> It was also one of the first computers, if not the first, to have [[floating point]] arithmetic.<ref name="odnb"/> Meg operated for the first time in 1954, and nineteen were sold by [[Ferranti]] under the name [[Ferranti Mercury|'Mercury']], six of them to customers overseas.<ref name="cacm"/>

While Kilburn led one design team working on Meg, he led another with [[Richard Grimsdale|Dick Grimsdale]] and Douglas Webb, on a research project examining what he believed would be the next step forward in computer design: the use of [[transistor]]s. The 48-bit machine they completed in November 1953 was the world's first transistor computer, with 550 diodes and 92 transistors, and was manufactured by [[Standard Telephones and Cables|STC]]. An improved version completed in April 1955 had 1,300 diodes and 200 transistors, and was sold by [[Metropolitan-Vickers]] as the [[Metrovick 950]].<ref name="cacm"/>

Kilburn's next project, known as [[Atlas (computer)|Atlas]], aimed to create a fast computer by making maximum use of existing and new technologies. The project was backed by Ferranti and a £300,000 grant from the [[National Research Development Corporation]].<ref name="cacm"/> It incorporated numerous technologies and techniques such as "[[multiprogramming]], [[job scheduler|job scheduling]], [[spooling]], [[interrupt]]s, [[Pipeline (computing)|pipelining]], [[interleaved memory|interleaved storage]], [[Asynchronous Transfer Mode|autonomous transfer units]], [[Storage virtualization|virtual storage]] and [[paging]] – though none of these techniques had been invented when the project started in 1956."<ref name="cacm"/> Other innovations included [[read only memory]] and a [[compiler-compiler]].<ref name="guardianobit"/> The greatest innovation was [[virtual memory]], which allowed the drum storage to be treated as if it were core.<ref name="atlas"/><ref name="m3"/> Three of them were built, and installed at Manchester University, the [[University of London]] and the [[Rutherford Laboratory]].<ref name="cacm"/>

[[File:Manchester Kilburn Building.jpg|thumb|260px|right|The [[Kilburn Building]], home of the [[Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester|Department of Computer Science]] at the [[University of Manchester]] is named in honour of Tom Kilburn.]]
Kilburn became a professor of computing engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Manchester in 1960. He was instrumental in forming the [[Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester|Department of Computer Science]] in 1964, becoming the first head of the department, and served as [[dean (education)|Dean]] of the Faculty of Science from 1970 to 1972, and pro-vice-chancellor of the university from 1976 to 1979.<ref name="cacm"/> His final computer project was the [[MU5]], which was designed to facilitate the running of programs in [[high-level programming language]]s. An analysis of code written for the Atlas gave an insight into the frequency of different operands and control structures. The project was assisted by a £630,000 Science Research Council (SRC) grant awarded over five-years. The design heavily influenced the successful [[ICL 2900 Series]].<ref name="cacm"/><ref name="guardianobit"/>

===Awards and honours===
Over the years, Kilburn received numerous awards and accolades. He was elected a [[List of Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 1965|Fellow of the Royal Society]] (FRS) in 1965,<ref name="frs"/> a [[DFBCS|Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society]] in 1974<ref name="dfbcs"/> and a fellow of the [[Computer History Museum]] "for his contributions to early computer design including random access digital storage, virtual memory and multiprogramming" in 2000.<ref name="chm"/> He was created a [[Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in 1973,<ref name="cbe"/> and was awarded an honorary doctorate of science from the [[University of Bath]] in 1979.<ref name="bath"/>

[[File:Kilburn Williams Plaque cropped.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Memorial plaque commemorating Kilburn]]
Kilburn received the IEEE Computer Society [[McDowell Award|W. Wallace McDowell Award]] in 1971 "for his achievement in designing and building some of the first – as well as some of the most powerful – computers in the world",<ref name="computer.org" /> the [[British Computer Society]] IT Award in 1973,<ref name="bcs"/> the [[Royal Medal]] of the Royal Society, in 1978,<ref name="royal"/> the IEEE Computer Society Computer Pioneer Award in 1982,<ref name="pioneer"/> the [[Eckert-Mauchly Award]] in 1983,<ref name="ema"/> and the [[Mountbatten Medal]]. 1997.<ref name="mm" /> A building at the University of Manchester, which houses the [[Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester|Department of Computer Science]], is named "The Kilburn Building" in his honour.<ref name="bldg"/><ref>{{cite web |title=The Kilburn Building |website=manchesterhistory.net |url=https://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/tours/tour10/area10page44.html |access-date=2 September 2023}}</ref> His nomination for the [[Royal Society]] reads: {{quote|Professor of Computer Engineering in the University of Manchester. He was a pioneer in the engineering realisation of the [[Stored-program computer|general purpose electronic digital computer]] and has made major contributions to the rapid rate of development that has occurred in this field over the past 15 years. His contributions cover the whole range from overall system design to the invention of high speed circuits to meet particular needs. His latest machine, 'Atlas' may well be the most advanced machine currently under construction anywhere in the World.<ref name="royal"/>}}

==Personal life==
Kilburn married Irene Marsden in 1943 and had two children, one daughter and one son.<ref name=whoswho/> Kilburn habitually holidayed with his family in [[Blackpool]] but was always back in time for [[Manchester United F.C.]]'s first match of the [[association football|football]] season. He claimed that watching Manchester United win the [[1968 European Cup Final]] at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley stadium]] was the best day of his life.<ref name="odnb"/> He took early retirement in 1981 to care for his ailing wife,<ref name="telegraphobit"/> who was suffering from chronic bronchitis, but she died on 3 August 1981, two weeks before his retirement.<ref name="odnb"/><ref name="cacm"/><ref name=whoswho/>

After his wife's death, Kilburn lived alone in the modest house they had shared in Manchester. He did not own a personal computer.<ref name="telegraphobit"/> In 1998 he unveiled a fully functional replica of the [[Manchester Baby]] at the [[Manchester Museum of Science and Industry]].<ref name="telegraphobit"/> He died at [[Trafford General Hospital]] in [[Davyhulme]] of [[pneumonia]] following [[abdomen|abdominal]] surgery on 17 January 2001.<ref name="odnb"/>
{{-}}

==See also==
* [[List of pioneers in computer science]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="atlas">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1093/comjnl/4.3.222| title = The Manchester University Atlas Operating System Part I: Internal Organization| journal = The Computer Journal| volume = 4| issue = 3| pages = 222–225| year = 1961| last1 = Kilburn | first1 = Tom| doi-access = free}}</ref>
<ref name="bath">{{cite web |url=http://www.bath.ac.uk/ceremonies/hongrads/older.html |title=Honorary Graduates 1966 to 1988 |publisher=[[University of Bath]] |access-date=22 February 2016 |archive-date=25 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525041553/http://www.bath.ac.uk/ceremonies/hongrads/older.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="bldg">{{cite web |url=http://www.cs.manchester.ac.uk/about-us/history/50-years/ |title=50 years of Computer Science at Manchester |publisher=The University of Manchester – Department of Computer Science |access-date=22 February 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="bcs">{{cite web |url=http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/1926 |title=BCS IT Awards: 1973 – 1999 |publisher=BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT |access-date=22 February 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="bit">{{cite journal | last1 = Williams | first1 = F.C.  | last2 =Kilburn | first2 =  T.  | date = May 1949 | title = A storage system for use with binary-digital computing machines | journal = Proceedings of the IEE - Part II: Power Engineering  | volume = 97  | issue = 50  | doi = 10.1049/pi-2.1949.0078 | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224589116  |pages=183–200 }}</ref>
<ref name="cacm">{{cite journal |title=Historical Reflections Tom Kilburn: A Tale of Five Computers |first=David |last=Anderson |journal=[[Communications of the ACM]]  |volume=57 |issue=5 |pages=35–38 |doi=10.1145/2594290 |s2cid=42682473 |url=https://cris.brighton.ac.uk/ws/files/483684/CACM%20Kilburn-%20A%20tale%20of%20five%20computers.pdf }}</ref>
<ref name="cbe">{{London Gazette|issue=45984|date=22 May 1973|page=6480|supp= y}} ''Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire''</ref>
<ref name="chm">{{Cite web |title= Tom Kilburn – CHM Fellow Award Winner |author= Computer History Museum |author-link= Computer History Museum |url= http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/bios/Tom,Kilburn/ |access-date= 30 March 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150403184925/http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/bios/Tom,Kilburn/ |archive-date= 3 April 2015 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>
<ref name="computer.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.computer.org/web/awards/mcdowell |title=W. Wallace McDowell Award |publisher=IEEE Computer Society |access-date=22 February 2016 }}</ref>
<ref name="dfbcs">{{cite web |url=http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/1650 |title=Roll of Distinguished Fellows |publisher=BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT |access-date=22 February 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025814/http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/1650 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="ema">{{cite web |url=https://www.computer.org/web/awards/eckert-mauchly |title=Eckert Mauchly Award  |publisher=IEEE Computer Society |access-date=22 February 2016 }}</ref>
<ref name="frs">{{Cite journal | last1 = Kilburn | first1 = T. | authorlink1 = Tom Kilburn| last2 = Piggott | first2 = L. S. | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1978.0020 | title = Frederic Calland Williams. 26 June 1911 – 11 August 1977 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 24 | pages = 583–604 | year = 1978 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
<ref name="guardianobit">{{cite news|author=Hilary J Kahn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/jan/23/guardianobituaries1 |title=Obituary: Tom Kilburn  |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=16 August 2014 }}</ref>
<ref name="m1">{{Cite journal | last1 = Kilburn | first1 = T. | title = The University of Manchester Universal High-Speed Digital Computing Machine | doi = 10.1038/164684a0 | journal = Nature | volume = 164 | issue = 4173 | pages = 684–687 | year = 1949 | pmid =  15392930 | bibcode = 1949Natur.164..684K | doi-access = free }}</ref>
<ref name="ieee">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1109/85.707570| title = Early programs on the Manchester Mark I Prototype| journal = IEEE Annals of the History of Computing| volume = 20| issue = 3| pages = 4| year = 1998| last1 = Shelburne | first1 = B. J. | last2 = Burton | first2 = C. P. }}</ref>
<ref name="m2">{{Cite journal | last1 = Williams | first1 = Frederic | authorlink1 = Frederic Calland Williams | last2 = Kilburn | first2 = Tom | authorlink2 = Tom Kilburn | doi = 10.1038/162487a0 | title = Electronic Digital Computers | journal = Nature | volume = 162 | issue = 4117 | pages = 487 | year = 1948 | bibcode = 1948Natur.162..487W | s2cid = 4110351 | df = dmy-all | doi-access = free }}</ref>
<ref name="m3">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1109/TEC.1962.5219356| title = One-Level Storage System| journal = IEEE Transactions on Electronic Computers| issue = 2| pages = 223–235| year = 1962| last1 = Kilburn | first1 = T.| last2 = Edwards | first2 = D. B. G.| last3 = Lanigan | first3 = M. J.| last4 = Sumner | first4 = F. H. }}</ref>
<ref name="mm">{{cite web |url=http://conferences.theiet.org/achievement/-documents/mountbatten-medal-winners.cfm |title=Mountbatten Medal – Medal Recipients |publisher=Institute of Engineering and Technology |access-date=22 February 2016 }}</ref>
<ref name="new">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/168095a0| title = The New Universal Digital Computing Machine at the University of Manchester| journal = Nature| volume = 168| issue = 4264| pages = 95–96| year = 1951| last1 = Kilburn | first1 = T.| bibcode = 1951Natur.168...95K| s2cid = 4216071}}</ref>
<ref name="odnb">{{Cite ODNB | first1 = Hilary J.| last1 = Kahn| authorlink1 = Hilary Kahn| title = Kilburn, Tom (1921–2001), computer scientist  | doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/55314 | year = 2004 }}</ref>
<ref name="phd">{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|first=Tom|last=Kilburn|oclc=841848118|title= A storage system for use with binary digital computing machines |publisher=University of Manchester|year=1948|url=https://www.librarysearch.manchester.ac.uk/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=44MAN_ALMA_DS21194868S|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.488439}}|website=manchester.ac.uk|authorlink=Tom Kilburn}} A first version of this thesis was written by Kilburn with the same title, as a personal report to the [[Telecommunications Research Establishment]] (TRE) to obtain a second year of secondment to the University of Manchester. Kilburn has stated that whilst he was writing it, requests for copies came in. Twenty copies were therefore made, and the document was circulated as an Internal Report by the Department of Electrotechnics, University of Manchester, dated 1 December 1947. Due to demand, a further 30 copies were made. It is known that several copies were taken to the USA by [[Douglas Hartree]], [[Harry Huskey]] and A. M. Utley (TRE) in the Spring of 1948</ref>
<ref name="pioneer">{{cite web |url=https://www.computer.org/web/awards/pioneer |title=Computer Pioneer Award |publisher=IEEE Computer Society |access-date=22 February 2016 }}</ref>
<ref name="royal">{{cite web |url=https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo==%27EC%2F1965%2F18%27) |title=Tom Kilburn EC/1965/18: Library and Archive Catalogue |publisher=The Royal Society |archive-date=29 April 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140429134254/https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo=='EC/1965/18') |location=London |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
<ref name="telegraphobit">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1319595/Professor-Tom-Kilburn.html |title=Professor Tom Kilburn |publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph]]| website=telegraph.co.uk|location=London|access-date=16 August 2014 |year=2001|author=Anon}}</ref>
<ref name="tube">{{cite journal  | last = Kilburn | first = Tom | author-link = Tom Kilburn | title = From Cathode Ray Tube to Ferranti Mark I | journal = Resurrection | publisher = The Computer Conservation Society | volume = 1 | issue = 2 | year = 1990 | url = http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/CCS/res/res02.htm#e | issn = 0958-7403 | access-date = 15 March 2012 }}</ref>
<ref name="Turing">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1145/2542504| title = Actually, Turing did not invent the computer| journal = Communications of the ACM| volume = 57| pages = 36–41| year = 2014| last1 = Haigh | first1 = T. | s2cid = 5694189}}</ref>
}}


{{S-start}}
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{{S-bef|before=-}}
{{s-ttl|title=Head of the [[Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester]] | years=1964–1980}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Dai Edwards (engineer)|Dai Edwards]]}}
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{{Portal bar|Biography|History of science|Greater Manchester}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilburn, Tom}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester]]
[[Category:British computer scientists]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:English electrical engineers]]
[[Category:Fellows of the British Computer Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:History of computing in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:People from Dewsbury]]
[[Category:Royal Medal winners]]
[[Category:People associated with the Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester]]