Oral History of Evelyn Berezin

Interviewed by Gardner Hendrie on March 10, 2014 in New York, New York, X7126.2014
© Computer History Museum
Evelyn Berezin was born in New York City in 1925. In 1951, she joined a start-up company, Elecom, based in Brooklyn, which had started to build digital computers. From 1951 to 1969, she worked at a number of companies designing a variety of special-purpose computer systems.
While working for Teleregister in 1962, Berezin designed one of the largest systems built at that time: a passenger reservations system for United Airlines. The design of the central system (three independent, linked processors) served 60 cities throughout the United States with a one-second response time and with no central system failures in 11 years of operation.
In 1969, Berezin founded her own company: Redactron, a new maker of word processors. Redactron moved into its first building in December 1969. Redactron's first word processors were delivered in September 1971-one and a half years after the company was started with only nine people. A worldwide marketing organization was set up as well as a service organization, and Redactron grew. In 1975, it employed just under 500 people. Redactron was sold in 1976 to the Burroughs Corporation.
Berezin has served on Boards of a number of public companies, including CIGNA, Koppers Co., Datapoint, and Standard Microsystems. Additionally, she has worked as Advisor or Board member with about 20 start-up technology companies. Berezin is currently on the Board of Directors of the Stony Brook (University) Foundation and is a member of the Oversight Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at NYU.
* Note: Transcripts represent what was said in the interview. However, to enhance meaning or add clarification, interviewees have the opportunity to modify this text afterward. This may result in discrepancies between the transcript and the video. Please refer to the transcript for further information - www.computerhis...
Visit computerhistory.org/collections/oralhistories/ for more information about the Computer History Museum's Oral History Collection.

[@beverridge]

49:00 The guy asked me to design a computer network, I designed a network and I was hired.
I've been unbelievably lucky.
No, Madam, you've been unbelievably smart and brave, and intelligent.
That's why you've been so successfull in your life.

[@ParkRoadGuy]

This woman was a damn genius. Just amazing to hear this story.

[@oliviabutler4146]

Thank you for your brilliance. you've help the world and I'm grateful

[@edwinconcepcion1135]

The interviewer interrupts a lot! Let that genius of a woman speak!