Dr Gotlieb by Robert Lansdale
Toronto. As I ate breakfast last Friday (Nov 4th), I read with interest the Globe’s obituary for Kelly Gotlieb, the father of Canadian computing. Gotlieb earned that title when while associated with the U of T, he imported Canada’s earliest computer from Ferranti Electric in Britain. The computer was named FERUT – FERranti U of T). This obit interested me for two reasons. Firstly, at Bell we brought in some U of T computer folk to help us expand our facilities. Secondly we heard Dr Norman Ball speak on Niagara at our February, 2011 meeting. Dr Ball had written a detailed book on Ferranti-Packard.
As I glanced at the accompanying portrait of Dr Gotlieb, I sensed something familiar-looking about the portrait. Reading the cut line below the photograph, it leaped out at me: ROBERT LANSDALE /COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO ARCHIVES.
Years earlier Bob had casually mentioned to me that he had donated much of his professional work and negatives to the U of T Archives. We are truly blessed to have this creative photographer as PHSC’s official photographer and editor of our journal Photographic Canadiana.
