John Vincent Atanasoff Collection
A selection of images and documents related to the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC), the first electronic digital computer
Contents: About the collection | Related resources | Accessibility| Tech
About the Collection
John Vincent Atanasoff (1903-1995) began developing concepts for an electronic computing machine in 1937 while a faculty member at Iowa State College (Iowa State University). It was shortly thereafter that he, along with graduate student Clifford Berry, started work on the world’s first electronic digital computer. The computer would later be named the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC).
This digital collection contains images and documents related to John Vincent Atanasoff, Clifford Berry, the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC), and the court case that established the ABC as the first electronic digital computer. These materials include photographs and drawings of the original ABC, two manuscripts written by Atanasoff regarding the computer’s design and functionality, a manual for it written by Berry, and Berry’s master’s thesis about the computer. The collection also contains documents pertaining to the court case of Honeywell, Inc. v. Sperry-Rand, specifically the decision and Atanasoff’s deposition.
Related resources
Accessibility information
The Iowa State University Library is committed to providing access to its digital content. Certain material, particularly older materials, handwritten documents, and visual content, present unique challenges in providing fully accessible resources. If you are experiencing barriers to accessing, viewing, or navigating the Digital Collections site please contact us for assistance or to request additional formats.
Technical Credits - CollectionBuilder
This digital collection is built with CollectionBuilder, an open source framework for creating digital collection and exhibit websites that is developed by faculty librarians at the University of Idaho Library following the Lib-Static methodology.
Using the CollectionBuilder-CSV template and the static website generator Jekyll, this project creates an engaging interface to explore driven by metadata.