---
category: Private Organization
created: 2024-05-11
description: IBM, founded in 1911, is a multinational tech company specializing in
  computers and computing technologies. Known for inventing the relational database
  in 1969, it provided mainframe and minicomputers during the 1960s-70s, used by organizations
  and governments worldwide.
location: Armonk, New York, USA
start: 1911
summary: International Business Machines (IBM) is a multinational technology company
  founded in 1911 and headquartered in Armonk, New York, whose mainframe and minicomputer
  systems were used by the government agencies that became targets of the PROMIS software
  distribution network.
tags:
- IBM
- technology
- history
title: IBM
updated: 2024-05-11
---

> [!INFO] THIS IS NOT WIKIPEDIA
> This page is not all encompassing. The company is obviously much larger and deserving more detail than the scope of this page. Consequently, only general information and details relevant to other research thrusts are included.

International Business Machines, or IBM as it’s commonly known, is a multinational tech and research company headquartered in Armonk, New York. It was founded in 1911. The company specializes in computers and computing technologies and has close ties with governments around the world (most infamously with Nazi Germany as part of the Holocaust).

In 1969, IBM invented the [relational database](/concepts/relational-database/). During the 1960’s and 70’s, IBM was a major provider of mainframe and later minicomputers. These large, powerful (for the time), and expensive machines were used by organizations like the [LEAA](/organizations/leaa/) or countries like [Canada](/places/canada/) to run software including [PROMIS](/programs/promis/).

Richard L. Garwin, a prominent scientist, was associated with IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center. He was a member of an ad hoc panel of distinguished scientists tasked with studying the VELA data related to a probable nuclear explosion in the South Indian Ocean in 1979. Garwin was known for his independence as a government consultant.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 11.