The real inventor of the computer is American Professor John Atanasoff.
Most books say that the Hungarian-American scientist John Von Neumann (1903-1957) was the inventor of the electronic computer. He has always been known as the "Father of the Electronic Computer" . However, von Neumann himself did not consider himself the "father of electronic computers." Frankl, an American physicist who once served as von Neumann's assistant at Los Alamos Laboratory, wrote in a letter: "Many people recommend von Neumann as the 'Father of Computers'. Yet I am convinced that he himself never contributed to this error, which he may properly be called a midwife, but he has strongly emphasized to me, and I am sure to others, if not to consider Babbage, Ada, and others. The relevant concepts that people proposed earlier and the basic concepts of computers belong to Turing. According to my opinion, von Neumann's basic role is to make the world understand the basic concepts introduced by Turing. "It was von Neumann himself. , personally put the crown of "Father of Computers" on the head of British scientist Alan M. Turing (1912-1954). However, the real "Father of Computers" was neither von Neumann nor Alan Turing.
Before 1973, most people in the American computer industry believed that the inventors of electronic computers were J. Mauchiy and P. Eckert of the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. , because they are the developers of the first electronic computer ENIAC (ENIAC) with great practical value.
The fact now recognized by the international computer community is that the real inventor of the first electronic computer was the American John V. Atanasoff (1903-1995) . He is known as the "Father of Electronic Computers" in the international computer community. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people in the Chinese computer industry do not know this fact.
As to who is the real inventor of the electronic computer, the relevant persons in the United States, Atanasoff, Mauchly and Eckert, once fought a protracted lawsuit, with the court holding 135 hearings. The final decision was made by a district court in the United States. On October 19, 1973, the court announced its verdict in public: "Mauchly and Eckert did not invent the first computer, but only used the idea in Atanasov's invention." The reason was that Atanasov had invented it as early as 1941 In 2000, he told Mauchly, the inventor of ENIAC, about his thoughts on electronic computers.
J. Atanasoft is a professor of physics at the University of Iowa. Atanasoff invented the electronic computer with the help of his graduate student Clifford E. Berry (1818-1963).
The first experimental prototype of an electronic computer began operation in October 1939. The computer helped University of Iowa professors and graduate students solve complex mathematical equations. Atanasoff named this machine ABC (Atanasoff-Berry-Computer), where A and B take the first letters of their last names, and C is the first letter of "computer".
After the birth of the first electronic computer, Atanasov and Berry did not receive the inventor's wreath.
Before Atanasoff and Berry left, two improved ABC computers were operational. The two ABC computers were stored in a storage room in the physics building at the University of Iowa and gradually forgotten. In 1946, due to material shortages, both machines were dismantled and parts were used for other purposes, leaving only the memory components. The University of Iowa did not apply for a patent for the ABC computer, which resulted in a protracted legal dispute over the invention rights of the electronic computer.
The U.S. District Court's ruling was correct because Mauchly, the inventor of ENIAC, did visit the ABC computer at the University of Iowa and listened to Atanasoff's introduction, which inspired him.
Atanasov was born on October 4, 1903 in Hamilton, Maryland, USA. He spent his childhood in Florida. His father is a Bulgarian expatriate. He won the highest scientific award in Bulgaria and worked as a mine electrical engineer after arriving in the United States. His mother is a mathematics teacher. Atanasov has been closely associated with electricity and mathematics since childhood.
Atanasoff entered the University of Florida in 1921 and chose the same major as his father, electrical engineering. Among his classmates, he had the best math scores and was the only one who had learned binary number operations. After graduating from college in 1925, he entered the University of Iowa to study mathematics. After receiving his master's degree, he entered the University of Wisconsin to pursue a doctorate in physics. When Atanasov received his PhD in 1930, his majors spanned electrical, mathematics and physics. His extensive knowledge was a solid foundation for his future inventions and creations.
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Atanasoff returned to the University of Iowa as a teacher. Later, he became a professor of physics at the school.
In 1942, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Atanasoff and Berry took the initiative to put down their research plans and turn to more urgent national defense research projects. In late 1942, Berry went to Los Angeles to participate in a defense contracting project, while Atanasoff went to work at a Naval Ordnance Laboratory in Washington, studying bomb fuses. Since then, the two have lost contact.
After the end of World War II, Atanasov did not return to the university lecture hall. He successively founded several military and civilian companies and served as president and technical director. He obtained 32 invention patents in his lifetime and passed away on June 15, 1995 at the age of 91.
Clifford Berry was born in New York. He was called a "genius" by his classmates in elementary school and graduated from high school with excellent grades in all subjects. He loves radio and is a well-known local amateur radio operator. His greatest characteristic is his extremely strong hands-on ability, and he makes everything meticulously and exquisitely. He also majored in electrical engineering at the University of Iowa. He had attended physics classes taught by Professor Atanasov. While he was studying, he worked part-time as a technician at a local electrical company. In 1939, he graduated at the top of his class. When Atanasoff asked Berry to become a research assistant, Berry happily agreed.
Berry played a large role in making Atanasoff's electronic computer blueprint a reality. Therefore, it is appropriate that the name of the first electronic computer uses the first letter of his last name and is called the ABC computer.