Hans Peter Luhn and the birth of the hashing algorithm
Hallam Stevens · IEEE Spectrum · 2018
NOVEMBER 1958, AT A SIX-DAY INTERNATIONAL CONFERence devoted to scientific information, the inventor Hans Peter Luhn demonstrated a series of his electromechanical machines. They looked rather ordinary. Much like other computing devices of the day, they were boxy and utilitarian, designed to scoop and sort tall stacks of punch cards into slots and bins.