Humanities › History & Culture John Mauchly: Computer Pioneer Inventor of the ENIAC and the UNIVAC Share Flipboard Email Print John Mauchly (left) and Dr Presper Eckert Jr with ENIAC, the. Hulton Archive / Getty Images History & Culture Inventions Computers & The Internet Famous Inventions Famous Inventors Patents & Trademarks Invention Timelines American History African American History African History Ancient History and Culture Asian History European History Genealogy Latin American History Medieval & Renaissance History Military History The 20th Century Women's History View More By Mary Bellis Mary Bellis Inventions Expert Mary Bellis covered inventions and inventors for ThoughtCo for 18 years. She is known for her independent films and documentaries, including one about Alexander Graham Bell. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on April 03, 2017 Electrical engineer John Mauchly is best known for co-inventing, alongside John Presper Eckert, the first general-purpose electronic digital computer, known as ENIAC. The team later co-invented the first commercial (for sale to consumers) digital electronic computer, called the UNIVAC. Early Life John Mauchly was born on August 30, 1907 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In 1925 Mauchly attended Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, on a full scholarship and graduated with a degree in physics. John Mauchly's Introduction to Computers By 1932, John Mauchly had received his Ph.d. in physics. However, he had always maintained an interest in electrical engineering. In 1940, while Mauchly was teaching physics at Ursinus College in Philadelphia, he was introduced to the newly developing field of electronic computers. In 1941, John Mauchly attended a training course (taught by John Presper Eckert) in electronics at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Immediately after completing the course, Mauchly also became an instructor at the Moore school. John Mauchly and John Presper Eckert It was at Moore that John Mauchly began his research on designing a better computer and began his long working relationship with John Presper Eckert. The team collaborated on the construction of the ENIAC, completed in 1946. They subsequently left the Moore school to start their own business, the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation. The National Bureau of Standards asked the new company to build the Universal Automatic Computer, or UNIVAC—the first computer to be produced commercially in the United States. John Mauchly's Later Life and Death John Mauchly formed Mauchly Associates, of which he was president from 1959 to 1965. He later became chairman of the board. Mauchly was the president of Dynatrend Inc. from 1968 to his death in 1980 and also president of Marketrend Inc. from 1970 again until his death. John Mauchly died on January 8 1980, in Ambler, Pennsylvania. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Bellis, Mary. "John Mauchly: Computer Pioneer." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/john-mauchly-computer-pioneer-1992169. Bellis, Mary. (2023, April 5). John Mauchly: Computer Pioneer. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/john-mauchly-computer-pioneer-1992169 Bellis, Mary. "John Mauchly: Computer Pioneer." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/john-mauchly-computer-pioneer-1992169 (accessed June 3, 2023). copy citation Featured Video