Clifford Berry
Clifford Edward Berry (born April 19, 1918 in Gladbrook , Iowa, † October 30, 1963 ) was an American computer pioneer. He supported John Atanasoff in the development of the first electronic, digital calculator, the Atanasoff-Berry computer .
Life
Berry studied electrical engineering at Iowa State University . In 1939 he received his bachelor's degree in this field. He then took up postgraduate studies in physics, which he completed as a master's in 1941 .
In the spring of 1939, he began to support Atanasoff in his calculating machine project that led to the Atanoff-Berry computer. In December 1939 a first prototype could be presented. The project was then commissioned to develop a complete calculating machine for solving systems of equations . With the beginning of the Second World War , work on the adding machine was stopped.
On May 30, 1942, Berry married Martha Jean Reed, a secretary to Atanasoff. The marriage had two children.
After the wedding, Berry took a job with the Consolidated Engineering Corporation in Pasadena, California . A special permit enabled him to qualify for a Ph.D. in Physics from Iowa State College in Pasadena. In 1948 he received his PhD for his dissertation on The Effects of Initial Energies on Mass Spectra . In 1949 he was appointed senior physicist, in 1952 deputy research director and in 1959 technical director at CEC.
In October 1963, he moved to the Vacuum Electronics Corporation in Plainview (New York) as head of development .
Web links
- Biographies of Atanasoff and Berry. Iowa State University of Science and Technology, accessed May 21, 2008 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Berry, Clifford |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Berry, Clifford Edward |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American computer pioneer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 19, 1918 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gladbrook , Iowa, USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 30, 1963 |