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Some believe the first such invention occurred in 1944. However, there is strong evidence that the Atanasoff-Berry computer was invented and "reduced to practice" in 1939 at Iowa State University, and that portions were copied by the ENIAC inventors. This was determined in 1973 by a federal court presiding over a patent case between Honeywell and Sperry Rand. In similar developments, Colossus was the first electronic computer (that was developed by the British) to crack the LORENZ codes used by the German high command. The existence of Colossus remained a secret long after WWII. Until recently ENIAC was thought to be the first (although later than Atanasoff-Berry), but the secrecy of Colossus was finally lifted and we find it (and 9 others) were first operational in Jan 1944 while various portions of ENIAC were made operational in the period of June 1944 through October 1945. There are yet others who believe earlier calculators qualify as the first "digital computers".
Wiki User
∙ 17y ago
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago"Computers" have been around for a very, very long time. But the definition of what makes something a computer has changed a great deal. And the progress made on developing computers was made by many many people, not just one "inventor". There are many people out there who would say that the first "computer" was the abacus, invented in Asia about 5000 years ago. But somehow I doubt that this is what you're looking for, so let's look a little more recently.
As time went on, there were a number of special devices invented to help with things like tax collecting, taking the census, etc. At first, these were purely mechanical, but by the start of the twentieth century, they were run by steam.
The first of the "modern" computers was invented during World War II, in 1941 by a German engineer named Konrad Zuse. The computer was called the Z3 and was used to help design German airplanes and missiles. A couple years later, in 1943, the Allied forces developed a computer called Colossus to help decode German messages. But since the Z3 was developed by the side that lost the war and Colossus stayed a military secret for many years, these computers didn't contribute much to the ones that came next.
Independent of the Colossus project, the next computer was the Mark I, designed by Howard H. Aiken, an engineer working with Harvard and IBM. The Mark I was positively huge, taking up half of a football field, but it helped to create ballistic charts for the US Navy during the war. Shortly after this, though, came the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), developed by John Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly, working with the government and the University of Pennsylvania. ENIAC was a lot like the Mark I, except that it ran about 1000 times faster.
Moving along, there were other computers like EDVAC (1945), UNIVAC I (1951), etc. But all these computers had something in common with the older computers - they were designed for a specific purpose and couldn't really be used for anything else. They also all worked by using vacuum tubes, which is what made them take up so much space. The invention of the transistor in 1947 by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley at Bell Labs made the big difference from here.
Using transistors, computers came around that could store memory and even run programs. Soon they even had computer languages so that people could change the programs run by the computer when they wanted to. After a while, the focus on computer research came to be on making them smaller, giving us the kinds of computers that we have today.
I believe that first computer invented was ENIAC, an all-purpose computer, used for calculating artillery firing tables for US Army Ballistic Research Laboratory.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoShort for Atanasoff-Berry Computer, the ABCstarted being developed by Professor John Vincent Atanasoff and graduate student Cliff Berry in 1937 and continued to be developed until 1942 at the Iowa State College (now Iowa State University).
Wiki User
∙ 16y agoHerman Hollerith invented a machine that used electric relays to read digital data from holes punched in specific positions on cards in the 1890 U.S. census.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoAs of this date, 24th November 2008, no digital computer has claimed to be homosexual.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoFebruary 14, 1946
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Which was the first electronic digital computer and who invented it?
ABC
When the first computer was invented?
the first known computer, a mechanical analog computer, was invented and built circa 100BCthe first digital computer, a programmable mechanical decimal computer, was invented circa 1840 but never builtthe first electronic digital computer, an electronic binary computer, was invented circa 1936 and built in 1942. it was dismantled later that yearthe first programmable electronic digital computer, was invented in 1943 and 11 of them in 2 different models were built between 1944 and the end of the war in Europe. this is the only digital computer built built in a quantity greater than 1 until the early 1950sthe first stored program electronic digital computer, was built in 1948 based on a variety of concepts invented between 1936 and 1946. all modern digital computers are derivatives of this architecture
How could Charles Baggage invent the electronic computer if he was born in 1791 and it was invented in 1641?
The electronic computer was not invented in 1641, there was no electronics in 1641. The electronic computer was invented in the 1940s. Charles Babbage did invent the programmable digital computer, the Analytical Engine, but it was mechanical not electronic.
Was the first computer made in 1936?
The Z1 Computer, the first actual programmable computer.
Who is known as the father of modern digital programmable computer and why?
Charles Babbage because he invented the "Difference Engine."
Who invented the firt digital computer?
== ==
Who invented the digital electronic computer?
Atansoff
Which was the first electronic digital computer and who invented it?
ABC
Was the computer invented in 1998?
No, the first electronic digital computer was made in 1942. Its invention was about 1937.Electronic digital computers have been manufactured for sale since 1950.
When the first computer was invented?
the first known computer, a mechanical analog computer, was invented and built circa 100BCthe first digital computer, a programmable mechanical decimal computer, was invented circa 1840 but never builtthe first electronic digital computer, an electronic binary computer, was invented circa 1936 and built in 1942. it was dismantled later that yearthe first programmable electronic digital computer, was invented in 1943 and 11 of them in 2 different models were built between 1944 and the end of the war in Europe. this is the only digital computer built built in a quantity greater than 1 until the early 1950sthe first stored program electronic digital computer, was built in 1948 based on a variety of concepts invented between 1936 and 1946. all modern digital computers are derivatives of this architecture
Two inventions of Charles baggage?
Charles baggage invented the digital and automatic computer.
What did John Vincent Atanasoff invent in 1973?
He invented the first electro digital computer
Which was invented first the laptop computer or the digital camera or the refrigerator or the electric light bulb?
Electric Light Bulb
When was hybrid computer invented?
Uncertain, but sometime in the early 1950s when an off the shelf electronic analog computer was interfaced to an electronic digital computer.
When was the electronic computer discovered?
Never, because it did not preexist its use by humans. The electronic computer (both digital & analog) was invented.
How could Charles Baggage invent the electronic computer if he was born in 1791 and it was invented in 1641?
The electronic computer was not invented in 1641, there was no electronics in 1641. The electronic computer was invented in the 1940s. Charles Babbage did invent the programmable digital computer, the Analytical Engine, but it was mechanical not electronic.
Was the first computer made in 1936?
The Z1 Computer, the first actual programmable computer.
