John Vincent Atanasoff definition
<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 digital
computer, 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)
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