John Vincent Atanasoff | |
|---|---|
 Atanasoff in the 1990s | |
| Born | (1903-10-04)October 4, 1903 Hamilton, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 15, 1995(1995-06-15) (aged 91) Frederick, Maryland, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Florida Iowa State University University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Known for | Atanasoff–Berry Computer |
| Awards | Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius, First Class |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Doctoral advisor | J. H. V. Vleck |
John Vincent AtanasoffOCM (October 4, 1903 – June 15, 1995) was an Americanphysicist andinventor credited 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 Rand lawsuit 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.
Atanasoff was born on October 4, 1903, inHamilton, New York to an electrical engineer and a school teacher.[6] Atanasoff's father, Ivan Atanasov, was ofBulgarian origin, 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 mixedFrench andIrish ancestry), 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 School in two years.[citation needed] In 1925, Atanasoff received his Bachelor of Science degree inelectrical engineering from theUniversity of Florida.[6]
He continued his education atIowa State College and in 1926 earned amaster's degree inmathematics.[6] He completed his formal education in 1930 by earning aPhD intheoretical physics from theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison with his thesis,The Dielectric Constant of Helium.[6] Upon completion of his doctorate, Atanasoff accepted an assistantprofessorship at Iowa State College in mathematics andphysics.[citation needed]
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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 ofslaved Monroe calculators andIBMtabulators for scientific problems, with which controlled the Monroe using the output of an IBM. In 1936 he invented ananalog calculator for 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 includedbinary math andBoolean logic to solve up to 29simultaneous linear equations. The ABC had nocentral processing unit (CPU), but was designed as an electronic device usingvacuum tubes for digital computation. It also had regenerativecapacitor memory that operated by a process similar to that used today inDRAM memory.
Atanasoff first metJohn Mauchly at the December 1940 meeting of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science in 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.[11]
In June 1941 Mauchly visited Atanasoff inAmes, Iowa for four days, staying as his houseguest. Atanasoff and Mauchly discussed the prototype ABC, examined it, and reviewed Atanasoff's design manuscript.[11] 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.[11]
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.[12]
By 1945 theU.S. Navy had 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 bomb tests.[citation needed] That job was made the priority, and he participated in the testing atBikini Atoll in 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–Mauchly patent 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.[13]
Atanasoff was deposed and testified at trial in the later actionHoneywell v. Sperry Rand. In that case's decision, JudgeEarl R. Larson found 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.
FollowingWorld War II Atanasoff remained with the government and developed specializedseismographs and microbarographs for long-rangeexplosive detection. In 1952 he founded and led the Ordnance Engineering Corporation, selling the company toAerojet General Corporation 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, Maryland for their retirement.[citation needed] In 1961 he started another company,Cybernetics Incorporated, inFrederick, Maryland which 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 companiesHoneywell and 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.[11]
Atanasoff died at the age of 91 on June 15, 1995, of astroke at his home after a lengthy illness.[6] He is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery inMount Airy, Maryland.[citation needed]
Atanasoff visitedBulgaria twice, in 1975 and 1985.[14] 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 Atanasoff asteroid found at the Bulgarian astronomic observatory of Rozen, was named after him.[15]
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.[16]
In 1990, PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush awarded Atanasoff theUnited States National Medal of Technology, the highest U.S. honor conferred for achievements related to technological progress.[17]
Other distinctions awarded to Atanasoff include:
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