Clifford Berry

Clifford Edward Berry (April 19, 1918 – October 30, 1963) was an American computer scientist who helped John Vincent Atanasoff create the first digital electronic computer in 1939, the Atanasoff–Berry computer (ABC).

Biography

Clifford Berry was born April 19, 1918, in Gladbrook, Iowa, to Fred and Grace Berry.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> His father owned an appliance repair shop, where he was able to learn about radios.<ref name=":1" /> He graduated from Marengo High School in Marengo, Iowa, in 1934 as the class valedictorian at age 16.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> He went on to study at Iowa State College (now known as Iowa State University), eventually earning a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1939 and followed by his master's degree in physics in 1941.<ref name=":0" />

In 1942, he married an ISU classmate and Atanasoff's secretary, Martha Jean Reed.<ref name=":1" />

By 1948, he earned his PhD in physics from Iowa State University.<ref name=":0" />

He died in 1963, attributed to "possible suicide".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• 1942 and 1962 photos of Berry, Ames Laboratory Archive, Iowa State
• Atanasoff-Berry Computer Archive, Computer Science Dept., Iowa State
• June 7, 1972 interview with Atanasoff on Berry, Smithsonian National Museum of American History
• A. R. Mackintosh, “Dr. Atanasoff’s Computer”, Scientific American, August 1988 (Archived 2009-10-31)
• "ABC - Atanasoff-Berry Computer", I Programmer
• IEEE Computer Pioneers Biography Entry