I didn’t make it up…
An article published here a few years ago, reproducing a note I wrote much earlier (1992), pointed out that conventional wisdom about the history of software engineering, cited in every textbook, is inaccurate: the term “software engineering” was in use before the famous 1968 Garmisch-Partenkichen conference. See that article for details.
Recently a colleague wanted to cite my observation but could not find my source, a 1966 Communications of the ACM article using the term. Indeed that text is not currently part of the digitalized ACM archive (Digital Library). But I knew it was not a figment of my imagination or of a bad memory.
The reference given in my note is indeed correct; with the help of the ETH library, I was able to get a scan of the original printed article. It is available here.
The text is not a regular CACM article but a president’s letter, part of the magazine’s front matter, which the digital record does not always include. In this case historical interest suggests it should; I have asked the ACM to add it. In the meantime, you can read the scanned version for a nostalgic peek into what the profession found interesting half a century ago.
Note (12 November 2018): The ACM Digital Library responded (in a matter of hours!) and added the letter to the digital archive.
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