The Birth of Modern Computing The question of who invented the modern computers is not an easy one,given the competing claims for that achievement. In 1939,John Atanasoff and Clifford Barry built a prototype computer at lowa State and a large machine in 1942. The first large-scale computer was the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC),completed in 1946 under the direction of J.Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the Moore School of the University of Pennsylvania. Conrad Zuse in Germany and the World War I cryptography team in England also built early computers. Other important contributions during the early years include stored-programming concept generally attributed to John von Neumann and the use of switching circuits to implement binary arithmetic proposed by Claude Shannon.The Birth of Modern Computing The Birth of Modern Computing • The question of who invented the modern computers is not an easy one, given the competing claims for that achievement. • In 1939, John Atanasoff and Clifford Barry built a prototype computer at Iowa State and a large machine in 1942. • The first large-scale computer was the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), completed in 1946 under the direction of J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the Moore School of the University of Pennsylvania. • Conrad Zuse in Germany and the World War II cryptography team in England also built early computers. • Other important contributions during the early years include stored-programming concept generally attributed to John von Neumann and the use of switching circuits to implement binary arithmetic proposed by Claude Shannon