From an early age, John Vincent Atanasoff was a math whiz with a strong interest in complex calculations. He’d learned how to use a slide rule by the age of 9, and then he began studying logarithms shortly thereafter. He graduated from the University of Florida with straight A’s.
During college, one of his favorite tools for completing these equations was the Monroe Calculator, but during his doctoral thesis the tool proved almost inadequate. He knew he would need a faster method to input numbers and solve equations, so he began to tinker with some tabulated IBM calculators and slaves of the Monroe Calculators he’d loved. Using the master/slave relationship, he was able to leverage existing technology to create an entirely new form of analog calculator.
During a flash of insight, Atanasoff created the operative principles for a computer he wanted to build. The end result would look very different from the computers we know today, amounting to little more than a glorified adding machine, but Atanasoff won a $650 grant to build one.
He created a machine that could solve 29 simultaneous linear equations, which is a small fraction of current computing power. The device also had no central processing unit, but it was one of the earliest examples of utilizing regenerative capacitor memory. That process is still a major component in the manufacture and usage of DRAM.
Atanasoff’s computing prowess led him to a position with the Navy’s Ordnance Laboratory. He began working on acoustic systems designed to monitor the atomic tests at Bikini Atoll.
Atanasoff is also the undisputed inventor of the electronic digital computer according to two separate court cases involving patent disputes. In both cases, the outcome of the court was that all ideas had been derived from Atanasoff’s tests and data.
About the Author: Samuel Phineas Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media and Telecom group. You may contact Phin on his LinkedIn.