John Vincent Atanasoff, 1903-10-04 - 1995-06-15.  An American mathemetical physicist, and the inventor of the electronic {digital computer}.  Between 1937 and 1942 he built the {Atanasoff-Berry Computer} with {Clifford Berry}, at the {Iowa State University}. Atanasoff was born on 1903-10-04 in Hamilton, New York.  In 1925, he got a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida.  In 1926 he received a Master's degree in Maths from Iowa State University.  He received a PhD as a theoretical physicist from the University of Wisconsin in 1930. While an associate professor of mathematics and physics at Iowa State University, Atanasoff began to envision a {digital} computational device, believing {analogue} devices to be too restrictive.  Whilst working on his electronic {digital computer}, Atanasoff was introduced to a graduate student named {Clifford Berry}, who helped him build the {computer}. The first prototype of the {Atanasoff-Berry Computer} was demonstrated in December 1939.  Although no patent was awarded for the new {computer}, in 1973 US District Judge Earl R. Larson declared Atanasoff the inventor of the digital computer (declaring the {ENIAC} patent invalid). Atanasoff was awarded the National Medal of {Technology} by US President Bush on 1990-11-13.  He died following a stroke on 1995-06-15. {John Vincent Atanasoff and the Birth of the Digital Computer (http://www.cs.iastate.edu/jva/jva-archive.shtml)}. ["Atanasoff Forgotten Father of the Computer", C. R. Mollenhoff, Iowa State University Press 1988]. (2001-10-03)