John von Neumann's Influence on Electronic Digital Computing, 1944-1946

The work of John von Neumann is acknowledged to be of singular importance to the computing field. Yet his work has not been studied to any appreciable degree by historians. This paper focuses on von Neumann's early involvement with the ENIAC and the EDVAC during the years 1944 to 1946 while he was a consultant to the Moore School of Electrical Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania. The paper considers some of the issues relating to von Neumann's influence on the Moore School work, on the stored-program concept, and on the future of electronic digital computers in general.