James W. Bryce

James Wares Bryce (1880 – 1949) was an American engineer and inventor. In 1936, on the centenary of the United States Patent Office, he was honored as one of the country’s 10 greatest living inventors.

Born in New York City on September 5, 1880, his father was from Edinburgh and mother was from Wick.

When Aiken published a press release announcing the ASCC. Bryce was the only IBM person mentioned. In 1946 Bryce designed the first commercial electronic multiplier using vacuum tubes, which IBM marketed as the IBM 603. He adapted the 603 to become the arithmetic logic unit in the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator (SSEC). However, he was too ill to attend the dedication of the SSEC in January 1948, and died in March 1949.