, United States (USA) (American Colonies)
1947 - September 9 –A moth lodged in a relay is found to be the cause of a malfunction in the Harvard Mark II electromechanical computer, logged as "First actual case of bug being found."

The incident involving the moth in the Harvard Mark II computer is a famous early example of a computer bug. The term "bug" had been used to describe technical glitches before this incident, but this particular case helped popularize the term in the context of computer science.

The computer in question, the Harvard Mark II, was a large electromechanical computer used for calculations and other scientific tasks. During a routine operation, the computer encountered a malfunction. Upon investigation, technicians discovered that a moth had become trapped in one of the machine's relays, causing the malfunction.

The term "bug" to describe a glitch or problem in a system dates back to at least the early 20th century in engineering jargon. Thomas Edison is known to have used it in this context. However, it was after the Harvard Mark II incident that the use of "bug" to describe computer glitches became more widespread.

Grace Hopper, a computer scientist and one of the programmers of the Harvard Mark II, is often credited with popularizing the use of the term "bug" in this context. She reportedly taped the moth into the computer's logbook with the notation "First actual case of bug being found," thus immortalizing the incident in computing history.

September 9, 1947

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