Clifford E. Berry

views updated

Clifford E. Berry

1918-1963

American computer designer who along with John V. Atanasoff designed and built the first electronic digital computer. The first design (1939) featured about 300 vacuum tubes for control and arithmetic calculations, use of binary numbers, logic operations, memory capacitors, and punched cards as input/output. This prototype influenced the direction of electronic computing technology, as it was the first to use electronic means to manipulate binary numbers.

More From encyclopedia.com