Page "Atanasoff–Berry Computer" Paragraph 1

The Atanasoff – Berry Computer ( ABC ) was the first electronic digital computing device.

Conceived in 1937, the machine was not programmable, being designed only to solve systems of linear equations.

It was successfully tested in 1942.

However, its intermediate result storage mechanism, a paper card writer / reader, was unreliable, and when inventor John Vincent Atanasoff left Iowa State College for World War II assignments, work on the machine was discontinued.

The ABC pioneered important elements of modern computing, including binary arithmetic and electronic switching elements, but its special-purpose nature and lack of a changeable, stored program distinguish it from modern computers.

The computer was designated an IEEE Milestone in 1990.