What Happened on October 4th

John Vincent Atanasoff was born in Hamilton, New York. As a math and physics professor at Iowa State University in the 1930s, he developed the idea for a calculating machine that would use binary arithmetic and electronic switching devices. He recruited a doctoral student, Clifford Berry, and together they built the Atanasoff-Berry Computer. The two innovators were only recognized much later for their work, which preceded John Mauchly’s better-publicized construction of the ENIAC. Atanasoff died on June 15, 1995.