Clifford Berry
Birth dateApril 19, 1918
Birth placeGladbrook, Iowa, US
Death dateOctober 30, 1963 (aged 45)
Death placeNew York City, US
FieldsElectrical engineering
Alma materIowa State College
Doctoral advisorJohn Vincent Atanasoff
Known forAtanasoff–Berry computer

Clifford Edward Berry (April 19, 1918 – October 30, 1963) was an American computer scientist who helped John Vincent Atanasoff create the first digital electronic computer in 1939, the Atanasoff–Berry computer (ABC).[1]

Biography

Clifford Berry was born April 19, 1918, in Gladbrook, Iowa, to Fred and Grace Berry.[2] His father owned an appliance repair shop, where he was able to learn about radios.[2] He graduated from Marengo High School in Marengo, Iowa, in 1934 as the class valedictorian at age 16.[3] He went on to study at Iowa State College (now known as Iowa State University), eventually earning a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1939 and followed by his master's degree in physics in 1941.[3]

In 1942, he married an ISU classmate and Atanasoff's secretary, Martha Jean Reed.[2]

By 1948, he earned his PhD in physics from Iowa State University.[3]

He died in 1963, attributed to "possible suicide".[4]

References

  1. ^ Sawyer, Tom (January 10, 2009). "Burroughs 205 HomePage". tjsawyer.com. Archived January 13, 2009 at the Wayback Machine. The 30-103 Electrical Computer was designed to help spectrophotometer technicians and scientists with their analytical calculations. . . . The computer on display was built in 1949.
  2. ^ "Famous Iowans – Clifford Berry". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2018-11-21.[dead link]
  3. ^ "Computer Pioneers – Clifford Edward Berry". IEEE Computer Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 2012. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  4. ^ "Computer Pioneers - Clifford Edward Berry"