1401
The IBM 1401 was the computer that made business computing ordinary.
- Odd
- Composite
Where 1401 fits
Why 1401 is special
More than ten thousand were installed from 1959, at a time when the total world population of computers was in the hundreds. It ran payroll and accounting for medium-sized companies, and its success is a large part of why IBM dominated the industry for the following two decades.
Same number, different meanings
How 1401 is understood across different contexts — never implying one meaning because of another.
- Mathematics
More than ten thousand were installed from 1959, at a time when the total world population of computers was in the hundreds. It ran payroll and accounting for medium-sized companies, and its success is a large part of why IBM dominated the industry for the following two decades.
- History
In 1401, the statute De heretico comburendo made burning the penalty for heresy in England (England).
- Technology & computing
The IBM 1401, announced in 1959, was installed in over ten thousand sites and handled routine business accounting. It brought stored-program computing to organisations that had used punched card tabulators.
1401 is part of
Factors & digit properties
- Divisors (4)
- 1, 3, 467, 1401
- Prime factorisation
- 3 × 467
- Digit sum
- 6
- Digital root
- 6
Representations
- Decimal
- 1401
- Scientific notation
- 1.401 × 10^3
Roman numerals
M C D I
MCDI uses the subtractive pair CD: a hundred before five hundred — five hundred minus a hundred.
Binary
1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
1 × 1,024 + 0 × 512 + 1 × 256 + 0 × 128 + 1 × 64 + 1 × 32 + 1 × 16 + 1 × 8 + 0 × 4 + 0 × 2 + 1 × 1 = 1,401
Octal
2 5 7 1
2 × 512 + 5 × 64 + 7 × 8 + 1 × 1 = 1,401
Hexadecimal
5 7 9
5 × 256 + 7 × 16 + 9 × 1 = 1,401
Read as powers of two: 1,024 + 256 + 64 + 32 + 16 + 8 + 1 = 1,401.
In historical numeral systems
Egyptian
1 lotus, 4 coils of rope, 1 stroke
1 × 1,000 + 4 × 100 + 1 × 1 = 1,401. The signs are simply repeated and added; where they sit on the line is a matter of layout, not value.
Babylonian
2 corner wedges + 3 vertical wedges (sixties place), 2 corner wedges + 1 vertical wedge (units place)
23 × 60 + 21 = 1401. Places are separated by a space on the tablet, with the higher place written first.
Systems that simply cannot reach this value are left out. Where a script needs a font most readers do not have, the reading is given instead of the glyphs — see number systems for each system in full.
Other mathematical patterns
- Deficient number
- Semiprime
- Lucky number (mathematical sieve)
Related numbers & connections
1401 is a year in the 15th century, in the 1400s.
Two steps in making computing ordinary — the 1401 put computers into medium-sized businesses in 1959, and the 4004 put a processor on a single chip in 1971.
View 4004 →Numbers Around Us
- appears inHistorical years
why?
Strength 0.50, confidence "high".
Other connections
- developed from4004
why?
Strength 0.50, confidence "high".
History
In 1401, the statute De heretico comburendo made burning the penalty for heresy in England (England).
DocumentedHistoryGeography: EnglandPeriod: 1401
Technology & computing
The IBM 1401, announced in 1959, was installed in over ten thousand sites and handled routine business accounting. It brought stored-program computing to organisations that had used punched card tabulators.
DocumentedTechnology & computingGeography: United StatesPeriod: 1959–1971More than ten thousand IBM 1401s were installed from 1959, when the world's total computer population was in the hundreds. It ran payroll and accounting for ordinary medium-sized firms, and that ordinariness is what established computing as a normal cost of doing business.
DocumentedTechnology & computingPeriod: 1959
Common questions
Is 1401 a prime number?
No, 1401 is not prime.
What are the factors of 1401?
The factors of 1401 are 1, 3, 467, 1401.
What is 1401 in Roman numerals?
1401 in Roman numerals is MCDI. CD is subtractive: a hundred before five hundred — five hundred minus a hundred. Written additively it would be MCCCCI, which Roman inscriptions used freely — the strict subtractive form is a later convention.
About this page's data
Mathematical facts:computed directly from the number's value — nothing to source or verify externally.
Contextual records: 3 reviewer-confirmed records, sourced and reviewed before publication.
Last reviewed: 15 July 2026