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Abstract
The combination of elements that is the basis of the modern computer was first conceived and reduced to practice by John Atanasoff, a professor of mathematics and physics, at Iowa State University in 1939. In the confusion of American entry into the Second World War, the patent application was abandoned and the invention lapsed into the public domain. Others asserted patent rights to the invention, but a lengthy judicial trial ascertained the facts and determined priority. Development of computer technology beyond the basic concept is having an ubiquitous effect on society.