John Vincent Atanasoff

person John Vincent Atanasoff, 1903-10-04 - 1995-06-15. An

American mathemetical physicist, and the inventor of the

electronic digital computer. Between 1937 and 1942 he built

the Atanasoff-Berry Computer with Clifford Berry, at the

Iowa State University.

Atanasoff was born on 1903-10-04 in Hamilton, New York. In

1925, he got a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical

Engineering from the University of Florida. In 1926 he

received a Master's degree in Maths from Iowa State

University. He received a PhD as a theoretical physicist from

the University of Wisconsin in 1930.

While an associate professor of mathematics and physics at

Iowa State University, Atanasoff began to envision a digital

computational device, believing analogue devices to be too

restrictive. Whilst working on his electronic digitalcomputer, Atanasoff was introduced to a graduate student

named Clifford Berry, who helped him build the computer.

The first prototype of the Atanasoff-Berry Computer was

demonstrated in December 1939. Although no patent was awarded

for the new computer, in 1973 US District Judge Earl R.

Larson declared Atanasoff the inventor of the digital computer

(declaring the ENIAC patent invalid).

Atanasoff was awarded the National Medal of Technology by US

President Bush on 1990-11-13. He died following a stroke on

1995-06-15.

John Vincent Atanasoff and the Birth of the Digital Computer.

["Atanasoff Forgotten Father of the Computer", C. R.

Mollenhoff, Iowa State University Press 1988].

(2001-10-03)