View source for John Vincent Atanasoff

{{Short description|American computer pioneer (1903–1995)}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name              = John Vincent Atanasoff
|honorific_suffix  = [[Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius|OCM]]
|image             = ATANASOFF Pic^2 - Flickr - Eye Steel Film.jpg
|image_size        = 
|caption           = Atanasoff in the 1990s
|birth_date        = {{birth date|1903|10|4|mf=y}}
|birth_place       = {{nowrap|[[Hamilton, New York]], U.S.}}
|death_date        = {{death date and age|1995|6|15|1903|10|4|mf=y}}
|death_place       = {{nowrap|[[Frederick, Maryland]], U.S.}}
|field             = [[Physics]]
|work_institutions = 
|alma_mater        = [[University of Florida]]<br>[[Iowa State University]]<br>[[University of Wisconsin–Madison]]
|doctoral_advisor  = [[John Hasbrouck Van Vleck|J. H. V. Vleck]]
|doctoral_students = 
|known_for         = [[Atanasoff–Berry Computer]]
|author_abbrev_bot = 
|author_abbrev_zoo = 
|influences        = 
|influenced        = 
|prizes            = [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Bulgaria|Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius]], First Class
|religion          = 
|footnotes         = 
|signature         = 
}}
'''John Vincent Atanasoff''' {{Post-nominals|post-noms=[[Order of Cyril and Methodius|OCM]]}} (October 4, 1903 – June 15, 1995) was an American [[physicist]] and [[inventor]] credited with<!--others contest this claim--> inventing the first electronic [[digital computer]].<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Atanasoff, John Vincent |title= Who's Who in America 1995 |place= New Providence, NJ  |publisher=Marquis Who's Who |year=1994 |volume= 1 (A-K)|page=129 |edition=49th |isbn= 0837901596|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhoinamerica10marq/page/128 |chapter-url-access= registration |via= Internet Archive |access-date= January 22, 2020}}</ref> Atanasoff invented the first electronic digital computer in the 1930s at [[Iowa State College]] (now known as Iowa State University). Challenges to his claim were resolved in 1973 when the ''[[Honeywell v. Sperry Rand]]'' lawsuit ruled that Atanasoff was the inventor of the computer.<ref>{{cite book|url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=BEhlUfdMNucC |page=28 }} |title=Invitation to Computer Science |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~td2177/JVAtanasoff/JVAtanasoff.html|title=John Vincent Atanasoff - the father of the computer|website=www.columbia.edu|accessdate=February 1, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=qAMEAAAAMBAJ |page=100 }} |title=Kiplinger's Personal Finance |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=aWTtMyYmKhUC |page=53 }} |title=Portraits in Silicon |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref> His special-purpose machine has come to be called the [[Atanasoff–Berry Computer]].

==Early life and education==
Atanasoff was born on October 4, 1903, in [[Hamilton (village), New York|Hamilton, New York]] to an electrical engineer and a school teacher.<ref name="NYT"/> Atanasoff's father, Ivan Atanasov, was of [[Bulgarians|Bulgarian]] origin, born in 1876 in the village of [[Boyadzhik]], close to [[Yambol]], then in the [[Ottoman Empire]]. While Ivan Atanasov was still an infant, his own father was killed by Ottoman soldiers after the Bulgarian [[April Uprising]].{{sfn|Atanasoff|1985}} 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 mixed [[French Americans|French]] and [[Irish Americans|Irish]] ancestry), was a teacher of [[mathematics]].<ref>''The first electronic digital computer working on a binary code and using mathematical logic had been created in 1937-1942 by the American physicist of the Irish-Bulgarian origin John Vincent Atanasoff (1903-1995.)'' For more see: Mikhail Mikhailov (2005) Key to the Vedas, Belarusian Information Center, p. 62, {{ISBN|9856701872}}.</ref><ref>''My mother (she is still alive, at 89 years of age) is a typical American with a mixture of Irish, English and French blood, so that the Bulgarian language was never spoken in our house''. For more see: [[Blagovest Sendov]] (2003) John Atanasoff: The Electronic Prometheus, St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, Sofia, p. 57, {{ISBN|954071849X}}.</ref><ref>''During his variegated life, Atanasoff met and married a teacher of Mathematics, called Iva, with Irish and French blood in her veins. His wife bore eight children, one of whom was christened by his mother John – Vincent''. For more see: Dimitar Shishko (2001) John Atanasoff: The Father of the Computer, Tangra TanNakRa, p. 59, {{ISBN|9549942244}}.</ref>

Atanasoff was raised in [[Brewster, 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|date=June 2021}} At the age of nine, he learned to use a [[slide rule]], followed shortly by the study of [[logarithm]]s, and subsequently completed high school at [[Mulberry High School (Mulberry, Florida)|Mulberry High School]] in two years.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} In 1925, Atanasoff received his Bachelor of Science degree in [[electrical engineering]] from the [[University of Florida]].<ref name="NYT"/>

He continued his education at [[Iowa State University|Iowa State College]] and in 1926 earned a [[master's degree]] in [[mathematics]].<ref name="NYT"/> He completed his formal education in 1930 by earning a [[PhD]] in [[theoretical physics]] from the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] with his thesis, ''The Dielectric Constant of Helium''.<ref name="NYT"/> Upon completion of his doctorate, Atanasoff accepted an assistant [[professor]]ship at Iowa State College in mathematics and [[physics]].{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

==Computer development==
{{see also|History of computing hardware}}{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2021}}
[[Image:Atanasoff-Berry Computer.jpg|thumb|1997 replica of the Atanasoff–Berry Computer at [[Buildings of Iowa State University#D|Durham Center]], Iowa State University]]
Partly due to the drudgery of using the mechanical [[Monroe 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 of [[master/slave (technology)|slaved]] Monroe calculators and [[IBM]] [[Unit record equipment|tabulators]] for scientific problems, with which controlled the Monroe using the output of an IBM. In 1936 he invented an [[Analog computer|analog 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 student [[Clifford Berry]], the [[Atanasoff–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 to [[Rock Island, Illinois]].

The key ideas employed in the ABC included [[Binary numeral system|binary]] math and [[Boolean logic]] to solve up to 29 [[simultaneous linear equations]]. The ABC had no [[central processing unit]] (CPU), but was designed as an electronic device using [[vacuum tube]]s for digital computation. It also had regenerative [[capacitor]] memory that operated by a process similar to that used today in [[DRAM]] memory.

==Patent dispute==
{{further|Honeywell v. Sperry Rand}}

Atanasoff first met [[John Mauchly]] at the December 1940 meeting of the [[American 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.<ref name="PhysToday">{{cite journal |last1=Mackintosh |first1=Allan R. |title=The First Electronic Computer |journal=Physics Today |date=1987 |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=25-32 |url= https://doi.org/10.1063/1.881101 |access-date=9 June 2025}}</ref>

In June 1941 Mauchly visited Atanasoff in [[Ames, Iowa]] for four days, staying as his houseguest. Atanasoff and Mauchly discussed the prototype ABC, examined it, and reviewed Atanasoff's design manuscript.<ref name="PhysToday"/> In 1941 Atanasoff left Iowa State for a wartime assignment as Chief of the Acoustic Division with the [[Naval Ordnance Laboratory]] (NOL) in Washington, D.C.<ref name="NYT"/> No patent application for the ABC was subsequently filed by Iowa State College.<ref name="PhysToday"/>

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.{{sfn|Mollenhoff|1988|page=62–66}}

By 1945 the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] had decided to build a large-scale computer, on the advice of [[John 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|date=June 2021}} However, Atanasoff was also given the responsibility of designing acoustic systems for monitoring [[atomic bomb]] tests.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} That job was made the priority, and he participated in the testing at [[Bikini Atoll]] in July 1946.<ref name="NYT"/> 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|date=June 2021}}

In June 1954 IBM patent attorney A. J. Etienne sought Atanasoff's help in breaking an [[Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation|Eckert–Mauchly]] patent on a revolving magnetic memory drum, having been alerted by Clifford Berry that the ABC's revolving capacitor memory drum may have constituted [[prior art]]. Atanasoff agreed to assist the attorney, but IBM ultimately entered a patent-sharing agreement with [[Sperry Rand]], the owners of the Eckert–Mauchly memory patent, and the case was dropped.{{sfn|Mollenhoff|1988|pages=81–86}}

Atanasoff was deposed and testified at trial in the later action ''[[Honeywell v. Sperry Rand]]''. In that case's decision, Judge [[Earl 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 and [[J. Presper Eckert]], which were owned by computer manufacturer [[Sperry Corporation#Sperry Rand|Sperry Rand]]. In the 1973 decision of ''Honeywell v. Sperry Rand'', a federal judge named Atanasoff the inventor of the electronic digital computer.

==Postwar life==
Following [[World War II]] Atanasoff remained with the government and developed specialized [[seismograph]]s and micro[[barograph]]s for long-range [[explosive detection]]. In 1952 he founded and led the Ordnance Engineering Corporation, selling the company to [[Aerojet General]] Corporation in 1956 and becoming Aerojet's Atlantic Division president.<ref name="NYT"/> He retired from Aerojet in 1961.<ref name="NYT"/>

In 1960 Atanasoff and his wife Alice moved to their hilltop farm in [[New Market, Maryland]] for their retirement.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} In 1961 he started another company, [[Cybernetics]] Incorporated, in [[Frederick, Maryland]] which he operated for 20 years.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} He developed a phonetic alphabet for computers during this period of his life.<ref name="NYT"/> He was gradually drawn into the legal disputes being contested by the fast-growing computer companies [[Honeywell]] and Sperry Rand. Following the resolution of ''Honeywell v. Sperry Rand'', Atanasoff was warmly honored by Iowa State College, which had since become Iowa State University, and more awards followed.<ref name="PhysToday"/>

Atanasoff died at the age of 91 on June 15, 1995, of a [[stroke]] at his home after a lengthy illness.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/17/obituaries/john-v-atanasoff-91-dies-early-computer-researcher.html|title=John V. Atanasoff, 91, Dies; Early Computer Researcher|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 17, 1995|author=Walter R. Baranger}}</ref> He is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in [[Mount Airy, Maryland]].{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

==Heritage==
Atanasoff visited [[People's Republic of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] twice, in 1975 and 1985.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://m.president.bg/en/cat39/Biography-Jonh-Atanasoff |title=Biography of John Atanasoff |website=president.bg |access-date=2024-02-01}}</ref> He visited Boyadzhik village, where his grandfather had been shot by the [[Ottoman 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 the [[Bulgarian Academy of Sciences]]. The John Atanasov prize is awarded every year in Bulgaria. The [[3546 Atanasoff]] asteroid found at the Bulgarian astronomic observatory of Rozen, was named after him.<ref>{{cite web|title=Minor Planet Center, object 3546|url=http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?utf8=%E2%9C%93&object_id=3546|publisher=Minor Planet Center|access-date=2 November 2016}}</ref>

==Honors and distinctions==
[[Image:John.atanasoff.jpeg|upright|thumb|Monument to John Atanasoff in [[Sofia]], Bulgaria]]
Atanasoff's first national award for scientific achievements was the [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Bulgaria|Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius]], First Class, Bulgaria's highest scientific honor bestowed to him in 1970, before the 1973 court ruling.<ref name="Boyanov">{{cite web|url=http://ecet.ecs.uni-ruse.bg/cst/Docs/proceedings/Plenary/P-1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221231939/http://ecet.ecs.uni-ruse.bg/cst/Docs/proceedings/Plenary/P-1.pdf |archive-date=2014-02-21 |url-status=live |title=Prof. Kiril Boyanov. John Vincent Atanasoff – The Inventor of the First Electronic Digital Computing |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref>

In 1990, President [[George H. W. Bush]] awarded Atanasoff the [[National Medal of Technology|United States National Medal of Technology]], the highest U.S. honor conferred for achievements related to technological progress.<ref name="CongRecord_10_3_2003">{{cite web | title = Honoring Dr. John Atanasoff on the One Hundredth Anniversary of His Birth | website = Congressional Record – Extensions of Remarks | date = October 30, 2003 | url = http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/CREC-2003-10-30/CREC-2003-10-30-pt1-PgE2159-2 | pages = E2159–2160 | access-date = May 15, 2009 }}</ref>

Other distinctions awarded to Atanasoff include:

* Cosmos Club membership (1957) <ref name="Cosmos Club">{{cite journal |last1=Loevinger |first1=Vee |title=The Inventor of the Electronic Computer--The Cosmos Club Member Who Changed Our World |journal=Cosmos Journal |date=1996 |volume=6 |url=https://www.cosmosclub.org/journals/1996/loevinger.html |access-date=27 March 2023}}</ref>
* Computer Pioneer Medal from the [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] (IEEE) (1981)<ref name="NYT"/>
* [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Bulgaria|Order of the People's Republic of Bulgaria]], First Class (1985)<ref name="Boyanov" />
* Computing Appreciation Award, EDUCOM (1985)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Boyanov |first1=Kiril Lubenov |title=Proceedings of the 4th international conference conference on Computer systems and technologies e-Learning - CompSysTech '03 |chapter=John Vincent Atanasoff: The inventor of the first electronic digital computing |date=2003 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1145/973620.973621|isbn=9549641333 |s2cid=28795679 }}</ref>
* Foreign Member of the [[Bulgarian Academy of Sciences]] (1985)<ref name="Yamvol">[http://yambol.government.bg/physics/atanasov.htm Yambol Province Government.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611140415/http://yambol.government.bg/physics/atanasov.htm |date=June 11, 2008 }} Website (in Bulgarian)</ref>
* [[Honorary citizen]] of the city of [[Yambol]], Bulgaria (1985; Atanasoff's father was born in Yambol region)<ref name="Yamvol" />
* Iowa Award (2001)<ref name="Boshart">{{Cite news |last=Boshart |first=Rod |date=May 30, 2014 |title=Kenneth Quinn presented the Iowa Award |work=Muscatine Journal |url=https://muscatinejournal.com/news/state-and-regional/kenneth-quinn-presented-the-iowa-award/article_aea1155b-b4b6-59e5-bdf0-17a80e92e26a.html |access-date=1 November 2020}}</ref>

===Named after Atanasoff===
* Atanasoff Hall, the home to Iowa State University's Computer Science department <ref>{{ cite web|url=https://iowastatedaily.com/221693/uncategorized/hall-named-for-father-of-the-computer/ |title = Hall named for father of the computer | date=1997-08-26}}</ref>
* [[Atanasoff Nunatak]] (a peak) on [[Livingston Island]] in the [[South Shetland Islands]], Antarctica<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/scar/display_name.cfm?gaz_id=134048 |title=SCAR Composite Antarctic Gazetteer entry |publisher=Data.aad.gov.au |date=2002-03-15 |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref>
* The [[asteroid]] [[3546 Atanasoff|(3546) Atanasoff]], discovered by the [[Rozhen Observatory]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/lists/MPNames.html |title=Minor Planet Names: Alphabetical List |publisher=Cfa.harvard.edu |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref>{{sfn|Schmadel|2000}}<ref>[http://www.nvu.bg/faculty/computing/john.html National Military University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080110185242/http://www.nvu.bg/faculty/computing/john.html |date=January 10, 2008 }} Website (in Bulgarian)</ref>
* The John Atanasoff Award, established by [[Georgi Parvanov]] in 2003 and bestowed annually by the [[President of Bulgaria]] to a young Bulgarian for achievements in the field of computer and [[information technology|information technologies]] and the [[information society]] of Bulgaria<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dobredoshli.net/news.php?lang=2&cat=0&itm=369|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610143958/http://dobredoshli.net/news.php?lang=2&cat=0&itm=369|url-status=dead|title=John Atanasoff Award|archive-date=June 10, 2008}}</ref><ref>[http://web.cs.iastate.edu/news/news.jsp?id=51 Bestowing the 2005 John Atanasoff Award.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613201326/http://web.cs.iastate.edu/news/news.jsp?id=51 |date=June 13, 2008 }} Iowa State University website.</ref>
* The John Atanasoff Technical College in the Bulgarian city of [[Plovdiv]], a branch of the [[Technical University of Sofia]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tu-plovdiv.bg/en/faculty.php?faculty=15 |title=John Atanasoff Technical College |access-date=December 19, 2007 |archive-date=March 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310192046/http://www.tu-plovdiv.bg/en/faculty.php?faculty=15 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* The John Atanasoff Bulgarian national tournament in informatics and information technologies, held in the city of [[Shumen]] annually since 2001<ref>[http://dariknews.bg/view_article.php?article_id=201486 The 7th John Atanasoff Tournament.] Darik News website (in Bulgarian)</ref>
* The John Atanasoff Professional High School of Electronics in the city of [[Stara Zagora]], Bulgaria<ref>[http://electronica-stz.hit.bg/bul/photos.html John Atanasoff Professional High School of Electronics, Stara Zagora] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080104053038/http://electronica-stz.hit.bg/bul/photos.html |date=January 4, 2008 }}</ref>
* The John Atanasoff Professional High School of Electronics in [[Sofia]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://spge-bg.com/index2.php?lang=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610202612/http://spge-bg.com/index2.php?lang=en|url-status=dead|title=John Atanasoff Professional High School of Electronics, Sofia|archive-date=June 10, 2008}}</ref>
* The John Atanasoff [[Chitalishte]] (community cultural centre), Sofia<ref>{{cite web|author=Atanas Georgiev |url=http://www.chitalishte.bg/pageview.php?chitid=503&set_language=2&PHPSESSID=6878711bd3744fbda84fbfb125c0a3e8 |title=John Atanasoff Chitalishte, Sofia |publisher=Chitalishte.bg |access-date=2014-02-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418024614/http://www.chitalishte.bg/pageview.php?chitid=503&set_language=2&PHPSESSID=6878711bd3744fbda84fbfb125c0a3e8 |archive-date=April 18, 2012 }}</ref>
* The John Atanasoff Chitalishte, [[Boyadzhik]] Village, Bulgaria (the birthplace of Atanasoff's father)<ref>{{cite web|author=Atanas Georgiev |url=http://www.chitalishte.bg/pageview.php?chitid=234&PHPSESSID=78dd7c01fbae5ab2f9bb4ace8d6b9292 |title=John Atanasoff Chitalishte, Boyadzhik |publisher=Chitalishte.bg |access-date=2014-02-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025004654/http://www.chitalishte.bg/pageview.php?chitid=234 |archive-date=October 25, 2007 }}</ref>
* Prof. John Atanasoff 4th Primary School, Sofia<ref>[http://schools.pomagalo.com/1/3083/?view=gallery&pic=12061 Prof. John Atanasoff Primary School, Sofia.] Picture</ref>
* The John Atanasoff Private High School, [[Blagoevgrad]], Bulgaria<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jaschool.org/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216171546/http://www.jaschool.org/priem.html|url-status=dead|title=ยืนยัน otp รับเครดิตฟรี50 ไม่ต้องแชร์ – Official Website|archive-date=February 16, 2008}}</ref>
* The John Atanasoff Professional Technical High School, [[Kyustendil]], Bulgaria<ref>{{cite web|author=Страницата е генерирана за 0.55 сек. на 08.02.2014 02:54 |url=http://schools.pomagalo.com/127/3289/ |title=John Atanasoff Professional Technical High School, Kyustendil |publisher=Schools.pomagalo.com |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref>
* The John Atanasoff Bulgarian Language School, Chicago, Illinois,<ref>[http://www.johnatanasoffschool.com John Atanasoff Bulgarian Language School] Website</ref>
* The John Atanasoff Professional High School of Economic Informatics, [[Targovishte]], Bulgaria<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030419175810/http://pgii.hit.bg/ John Atanasoff Professional High School of Economic Informatics, Targovishte]</ref>
* The John Atanasoff University Student Computer Club, [[Plovdiv University]], Bulgaria<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rdesc.uni-plovdiv.bg/JAClub/JAClub.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024001827/http://rdesc.uni-plovdiv.bg/JAClub/JAClub.htm|url-status=dead|title=John Atanasoff University Student Computer Club, Plovdiv University|archive-date=October 24, 2007}}</ref>
* John Atanasoff Street, Yambol, Bulgaria<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nts-yambol.org/ |title=John Atanasoff Street, Yambol addressee |publisher=Nts-yambol.org |access-date=2014-02-08}}</ref>
* John Atanasoff Street, Sofia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mall.neogen.bg/katalog/?cat_nl_p=show_company&idcompany=15930&clid=4 |title=John Atanasoff Street, Sofia addressee |publisher=Mall.neogen.bg |access-date=2014-02-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610153004/http://mall.neogen.bg/katalog/?cat_nl_p=show_company&idcompany=15930&clid=4 |archive-date=June 10, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

==Selected bibliography==
* {{Cite journal |last=Atanasoff |first=John V.  |title=Advent of the Electronic Digital Computing |journal=[[IEEE Annals of the History of Computing]] |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=229–282 |date=July–September 1984 | issn=1058-6180 |doi=10.1109/MAHC.1984.10028|s2cid=34553374 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Atanasoff |first=John V. |title=The Beginning |location=Sofia |publisher=Narodna Mladezh Publishers |year=1985 }} (Bulgarian version of his 1984 paper).

==See also==
* [[List of pioneers in computer science]]
* [[Claude Shannon]]
* [[Victor Shestakov]]
* [[George Stibitz]]
* [[Konrad Zuse]]

==References==

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{Cite book | last=Mollenhoff | first=Clark R. | author-link=Clark R. Mollenhoff | title=Atanasoff: Forgotten Father of the Computer | year=1988 | publisher=Iowa State University Press | location=Ames, Iowa | isbn=978-0-8138-0032-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/atanasoffforgott0000moll |url-access= registration |via= Internet Archive}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schmadel |first=Lutz D. |title=Dictionary of Minor Planet Names |publisher=Springer-Verlag Telos |year=2000 |isbn=978-3540662921 }}

==Further reading==
{{more footnotes needed|date=June 2015}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Anellis |first=Irving H.|authorlink=Irving Anellis|url=http://projecteuclid.org/download/pdf_1/euclid.rml/1204900339 |title=John Vincent Atanasoff—His Place in the History of Computer Logic and Technology |journal=Modern Logic |volume=7 |number=1 |date=January 1997 |access-date=2015-06-04}}
* {{Cite book | last=Burks | first=Alice R. | author-link=Alice Burks | author2=Arthur W. Burks | author-link2=Arthur Burks | title=The First Electronic Computer: The Atanasoff Story | year=1988 | publisher=The University of Michigan Press | location=Ann Arbor, Michigan | isbn=978-0-472-10090-3 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/firstelectronicc0000burk }}
* {{ cite book | last=Burks | first=Alice Rowe | author-link=Alice Burks | title=Who Invented The Computer?: The Legal Battle that Changed Computing History | publisher=Prometheus Books | location=Amherst, New York | year=2003 | isbn=978-1-59102-034-9|url=https://archive.org/details/whoinventedcompu0000burk |url-access= registration }}
* {{Cite journal | last=Burks | first=Arthur W. | author-link=Arthur Burks |author2=Alice R. Burks | title=The ENIAC: First General-Purpose Electronic Computer | journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing | volume=3 | issue=4 | pages=310–399 |date=October 1981 | doi=10.1109/MAHC.1981.10043 | s2cid=14205498 }}
* {{Cite book | last=Burton | first=Tammara | title=World Changer| year=2006 | publisher=Tangra TanNakRa Publishing | location=Sofia, Bulgaria | page=271 }}
* {{Cite web |last=Do |first=Hien Chris |url=http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/do_Atanasoff.html |title=John Vincent Atanasoff |publisher=[[Virginia Tech]] |access-date=2015-06-04}}
* {{Cite journal | last=Mackintosh | first=Allan R. | author-link=Allan Mackintosh | title=The First Electronic Computer | journal=[[Physics Today]] |date=March 1987 | doi=10.1063/1.881101 | volume=40 | issue=3 | page=25 |bibcode = 1987PhT....40c..25M }}
* {{cite journal |last=Mackintosh |first=Allan R. |url=http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_761599223/Dr_Atanasoff's_Computer.html |title=Dr. Atanasoff's Computer |volume=259 |issue=2 |pages=90–96 |journal=Scientific American |date=August 1988 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240524174221/https://www.webcitation.org/5kwDlnDnc?url=http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_761599223/Dr_Atanasoff%5C's_Computer.html |archive-date=May 24, 2024 |bibcode=1988SciAm.259b..90M |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0888-90 |pmid=3064298 |url-status=dead |url-access=subscription }}
* {{Cite journal | last=Mooers | first=Calvin N. | author-link=Calvin Mooers | title=The Computer Project at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory | journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing | volume=23 | issue=2 | pages=51–67 |date=April–June 2001 | issn=1058-6180 | doi=10.1109/MAHC.2001.10002}}
* {{Cite book | last=Smiley | first=Jane | author-link=Jane Smiley | title=The Man Who Invented the Computer: The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer | publisher=Doubleday | year=2010 | isbn=978-0385527132 | oclc=502029794 | url=https://archive.org/details/manwhoinventedco00smil_0 |url-access= registration |via=Internet Archive}}

;Media
* Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/_inSe1EHrcU Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20110520215951/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_inSe1EHrcU Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite AV media |last=Hollar |first=John  |type=video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_inSe1EHrcU |title=Revolutionaries: The Man Who Invented the Computer with Author Jane Smiley |date=January 27, 2011 |work=[[YouTube]] |publisher=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=2015-06-04 |location=Mountain View, California}}{{cbignore}}
* {{cite AV media |last=Kang |first=Cecilia |type=video |url=http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/296682-1 |date=November 18, 2010 |title=After Words with Jane Smiley |work=C-span.org |publisher=National Cable Satellite Corporation |access-date=2015-06-04}}

;Obituaries
* {{cite web |last=Parashkevov |first=Atanas  |date=June 1995 |url=http://archive.comlab.ox.ac.uk/other/museums/computing/atanasoff.html |title=John V. Atanasoff: Obituary |publisher=[[Virtual Museum of Computing]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917223918/http://archive.comlab.ox.ac.uk/other/museums/computing/atanasoff.html |archive-date=2009-09-17}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.johnatanasoff.com/ JohnAtanasoff.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102034132/http://www.johnatanasoff.com/ |date=January 2, 2012 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061011170707/http://users.augustana.edu/arwalters/jva/ John Atansoff] at the [[Augustana College (Illinois)|Augustana College]] website
* ''[http://www.eyesteelfilm.com/atanasoff/ Atanasoff, Father of the Computer]'' trailer at [[EyeSteelFilm]]
* [http://jva.cs.iastate.edu/jvabio.php John Vincent Atanasoff] at the [[Iowa State University]] website
* {{MathGenealogy |id=239 |name=John Vincent Atanasoff }}
* [https://zbmath.org/authors/?q=ai:atanasoff.john-vincent Author profile] in the database [[Zentralblatt MATH|zbMATH]]
* {{Internet Archive author |sname= John Atanasoff}}
* {{Find a Grave |id= 10142061 }}
{{Timelines of computing}}
{{Iowa State University}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atanasoff, John Vincent}}
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American physicists]]
[[Category:20th-century American inventors]]
[[Category:American people of Bulgarian descent]]
[[Category:American people of French descent]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Computer designers]]
[[Category:Foreign members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Iowa State University alumni]]
[[Category:Iowa State University faculty]]
[[Category:Mulberry High School (Mulberry, Florida) alumni]]
[[Category:National Medal of Technology recipients]]
[[Category:People from Mulberry, Florida]]
[[Category:University of Florida College of Engineering alumni]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni]]