The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC), constructed between 1939 and 1942 at Iowa State College, is widely regarded as the world's first electronic digital computer. The ABC incorporated forward-looking features such as binary arithmetic, regenerative memory, and separation of memory and computing functions. While not all these ideas were new, the ABC combined more of these innovative concepts than any previous computer. Most significantly, the Atanasoff-Berry computer was the first computer to perform its computations purely electronically (using vacuum tubes), in contrast with the moving parts relied upon by all previous computers.

The ABC was the brainchild of John Atanasoff, a physics professor at Iowa State. Atanasoff's early interests and later research experiences moved him to construct the ABC. As a youngster Atanasoff borrowed his father's slide rule to practice computations. Upon entering college Atanasoff pursued degrees in mathematics and physics. While working on his doctoral thesis in physics, he...