The John Vincent Atanasoff Archive
(Under Construction)
An Historical Perspective
Throughout much of the last 50 years, John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert
have been
credited with inventing the electronic digital computer.
On October 19, 1973, US Federal Judge Earl R. Larson signed his
decision
following a lengthy court battle which declared the ENIAC patent invalid
and named Atanasoff the inventor of the electronic digital computer --
the ABC.
In recent years some authors have attempted to correct historical
inaccuracies which have loomed for decades.
Clark Mollenhoff
in his book,
Atanasoff, Forgotten Father of the Computer,
details the design
and construction of the Atanasoff-Berry Computer
with emphasis on the relationships of the individuals. Mollenhoff
also presents an in-depth description of the "gargantuan" court battle
waged to determine the validity of the ENIAC patent.
Alice and Arthur Burks
in their book,
The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story,
too, describe the design and construction of the ABC, but provide more
technical perspective on its operation than Mollenhoff.
Other journal articles have provided insight into this controversial
subject.
National Recognition of His Achievement
On November 13, 1990, Atanasoff was awarded the distinguished
National Medal of Technology by President George Bush in a
ceremony
at the White House.
Other Atanasoff Archives
The Virtual Musuem of Computing has the John V. Atanasoff Obituary online as well as a
listing of other Pioneers of Computing .