John Presper Eckert in ENIAC Computer

John Presper Eckert 

Electrical engineer, John Presper Eckert co-invented with John Mauchly, the first general-purpose electronic digital computer, called the ENIAC. The team later co-invented the first commercial (for sale to consumers) digital electronic computer, called theUNIVAC.

Featured Stories on John Presper Eckert:

• ENIAC 1: John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly
  20,000 vacuum tubes later... our own in-depth feature. The ENIAC I (Electrical Numerical Integrator And Calculator) was developed by John Mauchly and John Presper Eckert in 1946.
• The UNIVAC Computer
  The Universal Automatic Computer or UNIVAC was another computer milestone achieved by Dr. J. Presper Eckert and Dr. John W. Mauchly.

John Presper Eckert - Biography:

John Presper Eckert was born on April 9, 1919, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were John Presper Eckert Senior and Ethel Hallowell Eckert. John Presper Eckert Senior was an excellent businessman and millionaire.

Early Hostilities

One story of Eckert's youth is a sad one. Eckert always desired to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). However, his parents were uncooperative. Eckert Senior claimed he could not afford to send his only child to MIT. Eckert Junior attended the Moore Engineering School at the University of Pennsylvania. Eckert almost failed his first year at college after he realized that his family was deceiving him and he became too depressed to study.

John Presper Eckert did achieve his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1941 and his master's degree in 1943.

Marriage & Family Life

On October 28, 1944, Eckert married Hester Caldwell. They had two sons, John Presper III and Christopher. Hester died in 1952 and ten years later Eckert married Judith Rewalt on October 13, 1962 and had two children with her, Laura and Gregory.