John Vincent Atanasoff
At a glance
| Born | 4 October 1903, Hamilton, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| Died | 15 June 1995, Frederick, Maryland, United States |
| Known for | Atanasoff–Berry Computer |
| Education | University of Florida; Iowa State College; University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Award | United States National Medal of Technology, 1990 |
Source: Wikipedia: John Vincent Atanasoff1
Early life and computer
Atanasoff was born in Hamilton, New York, in 1903 and was raised in Brewster, Florida. His father, Ivan Atanasov, was an electrical engineer of Bulgarian origin, born in Boyadzhik. His mother, Iva Lucena Purdy, taught mathematics. Atanasoff earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Florida in 1925, a master’s degree in mathematics at Iowa State College in 1926, and a doctorate in theoretical physics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1930.1
At Iowa State, Atanasoff looked for faster ways to carry out calculations. With a grant of $650 and the help of graduate student Clifford Berry, he prototyped the Atanasoff–Berry Computer in 1939. The special-purpose electronic device used vacuum tubes, binary mathematics and Boolean logic. It was designed to solve up to 29 simultaneous linear equations and used regenerative capacitor memory. It did not have a central processing unit.1
Patent dispute
Atanasoff met John Mauchly in 1940 and invited him to see the ABC. Mauchly visited Atanasoff in Iowa in 1941, where they discussed the prototype and reviewed Atanasoff’s design manuscript. Atanasoff left Iowa State that year for wartime work at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory. Iowa State did not file a patent application for the ABC.1
In 1973, a federal judge ruled in Honeywell v. Sperry Rand that Eckert and Mauchly had derived the subject matter of the automatic electronic digital computer from Atanasoff. The decision named Atanasoff as its inventor. The ruling resolved challenges to his claim that had arisen in legal actions concerning electronic computing patents.1
Later life and legacy
After the Second World War, Atanasoff worked for the government on specialised seismographs and microbarographs for detecting distant explosions. He founded Ordnance Engineering Corporation in 1952 and sold it in 1956. He later led Cybernetics Incorporated, a company he started in Frederick, Maryland, in 1961. Atanasoff died at his home in 1995, aged 91.1
Atanasoff received Bulgaria’s Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius, First Class, in 1970. In 1990, United States President George H. W. Bush awarded him the National Medal of Technology. His name was given to the asteroid 3546 Atanasoff, and Bulgaria awards an annual John Atanasoff prize.1
Sources
Facts checked 13 October 2026. Prepared by InvestBulgaria for general information.
