The first commercially available general-purpose electronic computer was the Ferranti Mark 1, developed with Turing’s input.
Ferranti built the machine from the Manchester Mark 1 prototype created at the University of Manchester. Turing contributed mathematical and programming ideas to the Manchester project, including work connected with its instruction set and programming methods. Ferranti’s commercial version was delivered to the university in February 1951.
The name can cause confusion because the Manchester Mark 1 came first as an experimental prototype, while the Ferranti Mark 1 was the commercially produced machine. It was also marketed in some material as the Manchester Electronic Computer. ENIAC and EDVAC were important earlier electronic computers, but they do not fit this exact combination of commercial availability, general-purpose design, and stored-program operation.
The Ferranti Mark 1 helped establish the idea that computers could be practical working products rather than unique laboratory experiments. Its early users included scientists performing numerical calculations, and its design influenced subsequent British computer development.