Wikipedia

John Vincent Atanasoff

John Vincent AtanasoffOCM(October 4, 1903 – June 15, 1995) was an Americanphysicistandinventorcredited with inventing the first electronicdigital computer.[1]Atanasoff invented the first electronic digital computer in the 1930s atIowa State College(now known as Iowa State University). Challenges to his claim were resolved in 1973 when theHoneywell v. Sperry Randlawsuit ruled that Atanasoff was the inventor of the computer.[2][3][4][5]His special-purpose machine has come to be called theAtanasoff–Berry Computer.

John Vincent Atanasoff
OCM
Atanasoff in the 1990s
Born(1903-10-04)October 4, 1903
Hamilton, New York,U.S.
DiedJune 15, 1995(1995-06-15)(aged 91)
Frederick, Maryland,U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Florida
Iowa State University
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Known forAtanasoff–Berry Computer
AwardsOrder of Saints Cyril and Methodius,First Class
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics
Doctoral advisorJ. H. V. Vleck

Early life and education

Atanasoff was born on October 4, 1903, inHamilton, New Yorkto an electrical engineer and a school teacher.[6]Atanasoff's father, Ivan Atanasov, was ofBulgarianorigin, born in 1876 in the village ofBoyadzhik,close toYambol,then in theOttoman Empire.While Ivan Atanasov was still an infant, his own father was killed by Ottoman soldiers after the BulgarianApril Uprising.[7]In 1889, Ivan immigrated to the United States with his uncle. John's father later became an electrical engineer, whereas his mother, Iva Lucena Purdy (of mixedFrenchandIrishancestry), was a teacher ofmathematics.[8][9][10]

Atanasoff was raised inBrewster, Florida.Young Atanasoff's ambitions and intellectual pursuits were in part influenced by his parents, whose interests in the natural and applied sciences cultivated in him a sense of critical curiosity and confidence.[citation needed]At the age of nine, he learned to use aslide rule,followed shortly by the study oflogarithms,and subsequently completed high school atMulberry High Schoolin two years.[citation needed]In 1925, Atanasoff received his Bachelor of Science degree inelectrical engineeringfrom theUniversity of Florida.[6]

He continued his education atIowa State Collegeand in 1926 earned amaster's degreeinmathematics.[6]He completed his formal education in 1930 by earning aPhDintheoretical physicsfrom theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madisonwith his thesis,The Dielectric Constant of Helium.[6]Upon completion of his doctorate, Atanasoff accepted an assistantprofessorshipat Iowa State College in mathematics andphysics.[citation needed]

Computer development

See also:History of computing hardware
1997 replica of the Atanasoff–Berry Computer atDurham Center,Iowa State University

Partly due to the drudgery of using the mechanicalMonroe calculator,which was the best tool available to him while he was writing his doctoral thesis, Atanasoff began to search for faster methods of computation. At Iowa State, Atanasoff researched the use ofslavedMonroe calculators andIBMtabulatorsfor scientific problems, with which controlled the Monroe using the output of an IBM. In 1936 he invented ananalog calculatorfor analyzing surface geometry. At this point, he was pushing the boundaries of what gears could do and the fine mechanical tolerance required for good accuracy pushed him to consider digital solutions.

With a grant of $650 received in September 1939 and the assistance of his graduate studentClifford Berry,theAtanasoff–Berry Computer(ABC) was prototyped by November of that year. According to Atanasoff, several operative principles of the ABC were conceived by him during the winter of 1938 after a drive toRock Island, Illinois.

The key ideas employed in the ABC includedbinarymath andBoolean logicto solve up to 29simultaneous linear equations.The ABC had nocentral processing unit(CPU), but was designed as an electronic device usingvacuum tubesfor digital computation. It also had regenerativecapacitormemory that operated by a process similar to that used today inDRAMmemory.

Patent dispute

Further information:Honeywell v. Sperry Rand

Atanasoff first metJohn Mauchlyat the December 1940 meeting of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Sciencein Philadelphia, where Mauchly was demonstrating his "harmonic analyzer", an analog calculator for analysis of weather data. Atanasoff told Mauchly about his new digital device and invited him to see it.[citation needed]

In June 1941 Mauchly visited Atanasoff inAmes, Iowafor four days, staying as his houseguest. Atanasoff and Mauchly discussed the prototype ABC, examined it, and reviewed Atanasoff's design manuscript.[citation needed]In 1941 Atanasoff left Iowa State for a wartime assignment as Chief of the Acoustic Division with theNaval Ordnance Laboratory(NOL) in Washington, D.C.[6]No patent application for the ABC was subsequently filed by Iowa State College.[citation needed]

Mauchly visited Atanasoff multiple times in Washington during 1943 and discussed computing theories, but did not mention that he was working on a computer project himself until early 1944.[11]

By 1945 theU.S. Navyhad decided to build a large-scale computer, on the advice ofJohn von Neumann.Atanasoff was put in charge of the project, and he asked Mauchly to help with job descriptions for the necessary staff.[citation needed]However, Atanasoff was also given the responsibility of designing acoustic systems for monitoringatomic bombtests.[citation needed]That job was made the priority, and he participated in the testing atBikini Atollin July 1946.[6]By the time he returned from the testing the NOL computer project was shut down due to lack of progress, again on the advice of von Neumann.[citation needed]

In June 1954 IBM patent attorney A. J. Etienne sought Atanasoff's help in breaking anEckert–Mauchlypatent on a revolving magnetic memory drum, having been alerted by Clifford Berry that the ABC's revolving capacitor memory drum may have constitutedprior art.Atanasoff agreed to assist the attorney, but IBM ultimately entered a patent-sharing agreement withSperry Rand,the owners of the Eckert–Mauchly memory patent, and the case was dropped.[12]

Atanasoff was deposed and testified at trial in the later actionHoneywell v. Sperry Rand.In that case's decision, JudgeEarl R. Larsonfound that "Eckert and Mauchly did not themselves first invent the automatic electronic digital computer, but instead derived that subject matter from one Dr. John Vincent Atanasoff".

Between 1954 and 1973, Atanasoff was a witness in the legal actions brought by various parties to invalidate electronic computing patents issued to Mauchly andJ. Presper Eckert,which were owned by computer manufacturerSperry Rand.In the 1973 decision ofHoneywell v. Sperry Rand,a federal judge named Atanasoff the inventor of the electronic digital computer.

Postwar life

FollowingWorld War IIAtanasoff remained with the government and developed specializedseismographsand microbarographsfor long-rangeexplosive detection.In 1952 he founded and led the Ordnance Engineering Corporation, selling the company toAerojet GeneralCorporation in 1956 and becoming Aerojet's Atlantic Division president.[6]He retired from Aerojet in 1961.[6]

In 1960 Atanasoff and his wife Alice moved to their hilltop farm inNew Market, Marylandfor their retirement.[citation needed]In 1961 he started another company,CyberneticsIncorporated, inFrederick, Marylandwhich he operated for 20 years.[citation needed]He developed a phonetic alphabet for computers during this period of his life.[6]He was gradually drawn into the legal disputes being contested by the fast-growing computer companiesHoneywelland Sperry Rand. Following the resolution ofHoneywell v. Sperry Rand,Atanasoff was warmly honored by Iowa State College, which had since become Iowa State University, and more awards followed.[citation needed]

Atanasoff died at the age of 91 on June 15, 1995, of astrokeat his home after a lengthy illness.[6]He is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery inMount Airy, Maryland.[citation needed]

Heritage

Atanasoff visitedBulgariatwice, in 1975 and 1985.[13]He visited Boyadzhik village, where his grandfather had been shot by theOttoman Turks,and was warmly welcomed by the locals and his father's relatives. He was made an honorable citizen of the town of Yambol, and received the "Key of the Town". He was also given various titles by theBulgarian Academy of Sciences.The John Atanasov prize is awarded every year in Bulgaria. The3546 Atanasoffasteroid found at the Bulgarian astronomic observatory of Rozen, was named after him.[14]

Honors and distinctions

Monument to John Atanasoff inSofia,Bulgaria

Atanasoff's first national award for scientific achievements was theOrder of Saints Cyril and Methodius,First Class, Bulgaria's highest scientific honor bestowed to him in 1970, before the 1973 court ruling.[15]

In 1990, PresidentGeorge H. W. Bushawarded Atanasoff theUnited States National Medal of Technology,the highest U.S. honor conferred for achievements related to technological progress.[16]

Other distinctions awarded to Atanasoff include:

Named after Atanasoff

Selected bibliography

  • Atanasoff, John V. (July–September 1984). "Advent of the Electronic Digital Computing".IEEE Annals of the History of Computing.6(3): 229–282.doi:10.1109/MAHC.1984.10028.ISSN1058-6180.S2CID34553374.
  • Atanasoff, John V. (1985). "The Beginning". Sofia: Narodna Mladezh Publishers.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)(Bulgarian version of his 1984 paper).

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^"Atanasoff, John Vincent".Who's Who in America 1995.Vol. 1 (A-K) (49th ed.). New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who. 1994. p. 129.ISBN0837901596.RetrievedJanuary 22,2020– via Internet Archive.
  2. ^Invitation to Computer Science.RetrievedFebruary 8,2014.
  3. ^"John Vincent Atanasoff - the father of the computer".www.columbia.edu.RetrievedFebruary 1,2024.
  4. ^Kiplinger's Personal Finance.RetrievedFebruary 8,2014.
  5. ^Portraits in Silicon.RetrievedFebruary 8,2014.
  6. ^abcdefghijkWalter R. Baranger (June 17, 1995)."John V. Atanasoff, 91, Dies; Early Computer Researcher".The New York Times.
  7. ^Atanasoff 1985.
  8. ^The first electronic digital computer working on a binary code and using mathematical logic had been created in 1937-1942 by the American physicist of the Irish-Bulgarian origin John Vincent Atanasoff (1903-1995.)For more see: Mikhail Mikhailov (2005) Key to the Vedas, Belarusian Information Center, p. 62,ISBN9856701872.
  9. ^My mother (she is still alive, at 89 years of age) is a typical American with a mixture of Irish, English and French blood, so that the Bulgarian language was never spoken in our house.For more see:Blagovest Sendov(2003) John Atanasoff: The Electronic Prometheus, St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, Sofia, p. 57,ISBN954071849X.
  10. ^During his variegated life, Atanasoff met and married a teacher of Mathematics, called Iva, with Irish and French blood in her veins. His wife bore eight children, one of whom was christened by his mother John – Vincent.For more see: Dimitar Shishko (2001) John Atanasoff: The Father of the Computer, Tangra TanNakRa, p. 59,ISBN9549942244.
  11. ^Mollenhoff 1988,p. 62–66.
  12. ^Mollenhoff 1988,pp. 81–86.
  13. ^"Biography of John Atanasoff".president.bg.RetrievedFebruary 1,2024.
  14. ^"Minor Planet Center, object 3546".Minor Planet Center.RetrievedNovember 2,2016.
  15. ^ab"Prof. Kiril Boyanov. John Vincent Atanasoff – The Inventor of the First Electronic Digital Computing"(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on February 21, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 8,2014.
  16. ^"Honoring Dr. John Atanasoff on the One Hundredth Anniversary of His Birth".Congressional Record – Extensions of Remarks.October 30, 2003. pp. E2159–2160.RetrievedMay 15,2009.
  17. ^Loevinger, Vee (1996)."The Inventor of the Electronic Computer--The Cosmos Club Member Who Changed Our World".Cosmos Journal.6.RetrievedMarch 27,2023.
  18. ^Boyanov, Kiril Lubenov (2003). "John Vincent Atanasoff: The inventor of the first electronic digital computing".Proceedings of the 4th international conference conference on Computer systems and technologies e-Learning - CompSysTech '03.pp. 1–7.doi:10.1145/973620.973621.ISBN9549641333.S2CID28795679.
  19. ^abYambol Province Government.ArchivedJune 11, 2008, at theWayback MachineWebsite (in Bulgarian)
  20. ^Boshart, Rod (May 30, 2014)."Kenneth Quinn presented the Iowa Award".Muscatine Journal.RetrievedNovember 1,2020.
  21. ^"SCAR Composite Antarctic Gazetteer entry".Data.aad.gov.au. March 15, 2002.RetrievedFebruary 8,2014.
  22. ^"Minor Planet Names: Alphabetical List".Cfa.harvard.edu.RetrievedFebruary 8,2014.
  23. ^Schmadel 2000.
  24. ^National Military UniversityArchivedJanuary 10, 2008, at theWayback MachineWebsite (in Bulgarian)
  25. ^"John Atanasoff Award".Archived fromthe originalon June 10, 2008.
  26. ^Bestowing the 2005 John Atanasoff Award.ArchivedJune 13, 2008, at theWayback MachineIowa State University website.
  27. ^"John Atanasoff Technical College".Archived fromthe originalon March 10, 2021.RetrievedDecember 19,2007.
  28. ^The 7th John Atanasoff Tournament.Darik News website (in Bulgarian)
  29. ^John Atanasoff Professional High School of Electronics, Stara ZagoraArchivedJanuary 4, 2008, at theWayback Machine
  30. ^"John Atanasoff Professional High School of Electronics, Sofia".Archived fromthe originalon June 10, 2008.
  31. ^Atanas Georgiev."John Atanasoff Chitalishte, Sofia".Chitalishte.bg. Archived fromthe originalon April 18, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 8,2014.
  32. ^Atanas Georgiev."John Atanasoff Chitalishte, Boyadzhik".Chitalishte.bg. Archived fromthe originalon October 25, 2007.RetrievedFebruary 8,2014.
  33. ^Prof. John Atanasoff Primary School, Sofia.Picture
  34. ^"ยืนยัน otp รับเครดิตฟรี50 ไม่ต้องแชร์ – Official Website".Archived fromthe originalon February 16, 2008.
  35. ^Страницата е генерирана за 0.55 сек. на 08.02.2014 02:54."John Atanasoff Professional Technical High School, Kyustendil".Schools.pomagalo.com.RetrievedFebruary 8,2014.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  36. ^John Atanasoff Bulgarian Language SchoolWebsite
  37. ^John Atanasoff Professional High School of Economic Informatics, Targovishte
  38. ^"John Atanasoff University Student Computer Club, Plovdiv University".Archived fromthe originalon October 24, 2007.
  39. ^"John Atanasoff Street, Yambol addressee".Nts-yambol.org.RetrievedFebruary 8,2014.
  40. ^"John Atanasoff Street, Sofia addressee".Mall.neogen.bg. Archived fromthe originalon June 10, 2008.RetrievedFebruary 8,2014.

Works cited

Further reading

Media
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