On Tuesday, August 14 from 7 to 8 p.m., Producer/Director and Temple University Professor, LeAnn Erickson will discuss a secret US military program launched in 1942 that remains largely unknown to the public. Part of the Wright Museum’s Lecture Series, sponsored by Ron Goodgame and Donna Canney, this lecture will feature Erickson’s documentary film, Top Secret Rosies, The Female “Computers” of WWII.
According to Erickson, this program recruited female mathematicians who would become human “computers” for the Army. These women worked round-the-clock shifts and created ballistics tables for every weapon in the US arsenal.
“‘Rosie’ made the weapons, but the female computers made them accurate,” said Mike Culver, museum executive director.
When the first computer was developed to aid the calculation efforts, six women became its first programmers. Their work was not only crucial to allied victory, it carried a moral weight.
“These women had to reconcile the issue of ending a world war with the recognition that their computations made every Allied bomb and gun more deadly,” he said. “They experienced a real moral burden.”
Top Secret Rosies, The Female “Computers” of WWII will be held in Wolfeboro Town Hall’s Great Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $3 for members and $8 for non-members. Seating is limited, and reservations can be made by calling 603-569-1212.
The Wright Museum’s Lecture Series takes place every Tuesday through the end of the museum’s season, which concludes Oct. 31.
As the region’s leading resource for educators and learners of all ages on World War II. Wright Museum is open daily through Oct. 31 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
