Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

120 years since the birth of the inventor of the computer

President Radev to award winners of the John Atanasoff Presidential Award

Atanasoff was of Bulgarian origin

John Vincent Atanasoff (1903 – 1995) inventor of the Atanasoff–Berry Computer.
Photo: Archive

At a special ceremony at the Presidential Palace today, Head of State Rumen Radev will present awards to the winners of the John Atanasov Presidential Award for 2023. The award ceremony will be held on the day marking the 120th anniversary of the birth of the famous inventor of Bulgarian origin and creator of the first electronic computer with regenerative memory. The awards will be presented for the 21st time to pupils, students and young Bulgarian scientists who have shown outstanding results in the field of computer science.

John Vincent Atanasoff was born on October 4, 1903 near Hamilton, New York. His father, Ivan Atanasov, was a Bulgarian immigrant born in the village of Boyadzhik, Yambol region, then in the Ottoman Empire. Ivan's parents died in 1876, at the height of the April Uprising, so in 1889, at the age of 13, he emigrated to America with his uncle. He met John's Iva Lucena Purdy, an English teacher from upstate New York, and they got married in in 1900, following John’s graduation from Colgate College with a degree in philosophy.

Ivan and Lucena's son John became interested in mathematics and logarithms at an early age. He was later recognized as the inventor of the computer. More information on the subject can be found here.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov

Borislav Sarafov convenes a national meeting over the cases of violence

A national meeting on the topic "Activating the work of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria to ensure zero tolerance in countering cases of violence" will be held today. It is initiated by Acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov...

published on 12/2/24 6:05 AM
FIFA President Gianni Infantino

Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Čeferin to attend the gala evening "100 Years of Bulgarian Football"

Bulgarian football already has a century-old history, which will be celebrated tonight in Sofia in the presence of distinguished guests. The gala evening "100 Years of Bulgarian Football" will bring together FIFA President Gianni Infantino, UEFA..

published on 12/2/24 5:05 AM

The new week starts with rain and snow

On Monday, the weather will continue cloudy in most parts of the country with rain, more significant in the southeastern regions. Light snow will fall in the Pre-Balkans. Precipitation will stop from the southwest and clouds will break. There will be..

published on 12/1/24 5:20 PM