| Evelyn Berezin | |
| Birth Date: | 12 April 1925 |
| Birth Place: | The Bronx, New York City |
| Spouse: | Israel Wilenitz[1] |
| Known For: | Designing one of the first word processors; helping design some of the first computer reservations systems |
| Education: | B.S. in physics, 1946 |
| Alma Mater: | New York University |
| Employer: | Electronic Computer Corporation |
| Occupation: | Computer engineer, Physicist |
| Awards: | Fellowship from the United States Atomic Energy Commission |
Evelyn Berezin was an American computer designer who was responsible for the creation of the first airline reservation systems[2] in addition to the original word processor[3] and lived from April 12th 1925 to December 8th of 2018.[4]
Born in the Bronx in 1925, Evelyn went to Christopher Columbus High School. At only 16 years of age,[5] she began her studies in economics as opposed to physics at a women's university known as Hunter College, as they did not allow for women to take physics classes there. Her parents were Belarusian Jewish immigrants. Soloman, her dad, was a furrier and her mom was a seamstress. After WWII, there was a push for equality and Berezin could finally study physics. She had taken free classes during the war and afterwards, got a scholarship to New York University. Simultaneously, she was working full-time in the Rheology Department as an assistant for an International Printing Company known at the time as IPI. Evelyn earned her B.S. in physics in the year 1946 and would go on to make significant contributions within the space. In 1951, she married Israel Wilenitz and their marriage lasted 51 years until Wilenitz, passed away on February 20 of 2003.[6] Evelyn died 15 years later during cancer treatment on December 8, 2018.
Evelyn already held a fellowship from the United States Atomic Energy Commission during her days at NYU.[7] Electronic Computer Corporation offered Berezin an opportunity to become the head of the Logistic Design Department in 1951 which she accepted even though she lacked experience in computer design. This was due to the fact that she was struggling to find work within the physics world. It was a blessing in disguise as she went on to design many types of computers for different purposes including what we currently know as the office computer. In 1957, Evelyn left her job at the Underwood Typewriter Company Company, the company that had purchased ECC at the time. She then began her work work as head of logic design at a previous division of Western Union[8] known as Teleregister where she went on to aid in the creation of the Reservisor, the original airline reservation systems. Evelyn was tasked with developing one of the biggest computer systems in that era. She helped make the reservation system for United Airlines by utilizing the novel transistor technology at the time to create the Reservisor which had a one second response time.[9] Equally as impressive, during her time at Teleregister, she also helped with making the first computerized banking system that many business went on to utilitze.[10]
The New York Stock Exchange even reached out with a job offer in 1960. Unfortunately, due to the fact that she was a woman, it was quickly retracted.[11]
In 1968, Evelyn famously attempted to address the pain points of working as a secretary such as needing to completely retype documents when an error was found or wanting to make changes. She created the very first word processor and dubbed it the Data Secretary. In 1969, to sell her innovation, Berezin founded a company known as Redactron Corporation.[12] Her device was similar size to that of a small refrigerator at the time, and used an IBM Selectric typewriter for its input text that would then be stored in document form on a tape drive.
The applications of Evelyn's innovations were plentiful. Her Data Secretary replaced the old hefty process for completing important work tasks like drafting letters and reports, and made it much more simple and efficient, contributing to greater productivity and saving a significant amount of time. It was a precursor to the hardware and software used in todays computer systems that perhaps would never have been achieved without her. The Reservisor meant that reservations no longer required the same manual input. This significantly improved the customer experience and was able to reduce errors, making the process more streamlined. It's impressive response time and computing features made it revolutionary to the industry. Coupled with the breaking of gender barriers of the time her creations have had a significant impact on society today. They are both still in use, rather in a transformed state with the improved modern day technology involved. For example, Airline reservation systems are linked at a global scale. The interconnectedness of the modern world would not have been possible if it weren't for her initial airline reservation system. Both innovations have seamlessly integrated within societies everyday functions and the business and travel worlds could have both been significantly different without her.