The First Digital Electronic Computer

Taking a sneak peek at the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC), one of the new arrivals for the Computer History Museum exhibition when it opens in January.

Developed in 1937, the ABC was the first electronic digital computer (according to a patent dispute that stripped the ENIAC of that title).

Weighing in at 750 lbs., the ABC implemented Boolean algebra in vacuum tubes and could solve 29 simultaneous linear equations. For memory it used 1600 regenerative capacitors mounted on a rotating drum that spun once per second, and a paper card burner for read/write.

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