Computer History-Chance L. Engstrom

By FoxSatus
  • Period: 500 to

    Computer History

    Computer History
  • Liang Ling-Can invents the first fully mechanical clock
    Sep 13, 724

    Liang Ling-Can invents the first fully mechanical clock

    Liang Ling-Can invents the first fully mechanical clock
  • Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci depict inventions such as flying machines, including a helicopter, the first mechanical calculator and one of the first programmable robots
    Sep 13, 1492

    Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci depict inventions such as flying machines, including a helicopter, the first mechanical calculator and one of the first programmable robots

    Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci depict inventions such as flying machines, including a helicopter, the first mechanical calculator and one of the first programmable robots
  • John Napier invents a system of moveable rods (Napier's Rods) based on logarithms which was able to multiply, divide and calculate square and cube roots

    John Napier invents a system of moveable rods (Napier's Rods) based on logarithms which was able to multiply, divide and calculate square and cube roots

    John Napier invents a system of moveable rods (Napier's Rods) based on logarithms which was able to multiply, divide and calculate square and cube roots
  • William Oughtred develops slide rules

    William Oughtred develops slide rules

    William Oughtred develops slide rules
  • Calculating Clock: Invented by Wilhelm Schickard

    Calculating Clock: Invented by Wilhelm Schickard

    Calculating Clock: Invented by Wilhelm Schickard
  • Blaise Pascal: Blaise Pascal invents the the "Pascaline", a mechanical adding machine

    Blaise Pascal: Blaise Pascal invents the the "Pascaline", a mechanical adding machine

    Blaise Pascal: Blaise Pascal invents the the "Pascaline", a mechanical adding machine
  • Gottfried Leibniz: Gottfried Leibniz is known as one of the founding fathers of calculus

    Gottfried Leibniz: Gottfried Leibniz is known as one of the founding fathers of calculus

    Gottfried Leibniz: Gottfried Leibniz is known as one of the founding fathers of calculus
  • Joseph-Marie Jacquard: Joseph-Marie Jacquard invents an automatic loom controlled by punched cards

    Joseph-Marie Jacquard: Joseph-Marie Jacquard invents an automatic loom controlled by punched cards

    Joseph-Marie Jacquard: Joseph-Marie Jacquard invents an automatic loom controlled by punched cards
  • Arithmometer: The Arithmometer was the first mass-produced calculator invented by Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar

    Arithmometer: The Arithmometer was the first mass-produced calculator invented by Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar

    Arithmometer: The Arithmometer was the first mass-produced calculator invented by Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar
  • Charles Babbage: Charles Babbage designs his first mechanical computer

    Charles Babbage: Charles Babbage designs his first mechanical computer

    Charles Babbage: Charles Babbage designs his first mechanical computer
  • Analytical Engine: The Analytical Engine was invented by Charles Babbage

    Analytical Engine: The Analytical Engine was invented by Charles Babbage

    Analytical Engine: The Analytical Engine was invented by Charles Babbage
  • Morse code: Samuel Morse invents Morse code

    Morse code: Samuel Morse invents Morse code

    Morse code: Samuel Morse invents Morse code
  • Boolean algebra: Boolean algebra is invented by George Boole

    Boolean algebra: Boolean algebra is invented by George Boole

    Boolean algebra: Boolean algebra is invented by George Boole
  • Tabulating Machine: Per Georg Scheutz and his son Edvard invent the Tabulating Machine

    Tabulating Machine: Per Georg Scheutz and his son Edvard invent the Tabulating Machine

    Tabulating Machine: Per Georg Scheutz and his son Edvard invent the Tabulating Machine
  • William Stanley Jevons: William Stanley Jevons designs a practical logic machine

    William Stanley Jevons: William Stanley Jevons designs a practical logic machine

    William Stanley Jevons: William Stanley Jevons designs a practical logic machine
  • Ramon Verea: Ramon Verea invents a fast calculator with an internal multiplication table

    Ramon Verea: Ramon Verea invents a fast calculator with an internal multiplication table

    Ramon Verea: Ramon Verea invents a fast calculator with an internal multiplication table
  • Alexander Graham Bell: Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone called the Photophone

    Alexander Graham Bell: Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone called the Photophone

    Alexander Graham Bell: Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone called the Photophone
  • Comptometer: The Comptometer is an invention of Dorr E. Felt which is operated by pressing keys

    Comptometer: The Comptometer is an invention of Dorr E. Felt which is operated by pressing keys

    Comptometer: The Comptometer is an invention of Dorr E. Felt which is operated by pressing keys
  • Herman Hollerith: Herman Hollerith invents a counting machine which increment mechanical counters

    Herman Hollerith: Herman Hollerith invents a counting machine which increment mechanical counters

    Herman Hollerith: Herman Hollerith invents a counting machine which increment mechanical counters
  • Guglielmo Marconi: Radio signals were invented by Guglielmo Marconi

    Guglielmo Marconi: Radio signals were invented by Guglielmo Marconi

    Guglielmo Marconi: Radio signals were invented by Guglielmo Marconi
  • Tabulating Machine Company: Herman Hollerith forms the Tabulating Machine Company which later becomes IBM

    Tabulating Machine Company: Herman Hollerith forms the Tabulating Machine Company which later becomes IBM

    Tabulating Machine Company: Herman Hollerith forms the Tabulating Machine Company which later becomes IBM
  • Nikola Tesla: Remote control was invented by Nikola Tesla

    Nikola Tesla: Remote control was invented by Nikola Tesla

    Nikola Tesla: Remote control was invented by Nikola Tesla
  • Lee De Forest: Lee De Forest invents the electronic tube

    Lee De Forest: Lee De Forest invents the electronic tube

    Lee De Forest: Lee De Forest invents the electronic tube
  • IBM: IBM is formed on June 15, 1911

    IBM: IBM is formed on June 15, 1911

    IBM: IBM is formed on June 15, 1911
  • Philo Farnsworth: Television Electronic was invented by Philo Farnsworth

    Philo Farnsworth: Television Electronic was invented by Philo Farnsworth

    Philo Farnsworth: Television Electronic was invented by Philo Farnsworth

  • Philo Farnsworth: Television Electronic was invented by Philo Farnsworth

  • John Logie Baird: Electro Mechanical television system was invented by John Logie Baird

  • Walther Bothe: Walther Bothe develops the logic gate

  • Vannevar Bush: Vannevar Bush develops a partly electronic Difference Engine

  • Kurt Godel: Kurt Godel publishes a paper on the use of a universal formal language

  • Alan Turing: Alan Turing develops the concept of a theoretical computing machine

  • Konrad Zuse: Konrad Zuse creates the Z1 Computer a binary digital computer using punch tape

  • George Stibitz: George Stibitz develops the Complex Number Calculator - a foundation for digital computers

  • John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry: John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry develop the ABC (Atanasoft-Berry Computer) prototype

  • Hewlett Packard: William Hewlett and David Packard start Hewlett Packard

  • Enigma: Adolf Hitler uses the Enigma encryption machine

  • Colossus: Alan Turing develops the the code-breaking machine Colossus

  • Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper: Howard Aiken and Grace Hopper designed the MARK series of computers at Harvard University

  • ENIAC: John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly: John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly develop the ENIAC ( Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)

  • Computer Bug: The term computer ‘bug’ as computer bug was first used by Grace Hopper

  • F.C. Williams: F.C. Williams develops his cathode-ray tube (CRT) storing device the forerunner to random-access memory (RAM)

  • William Shockley: William Shockley invents the transistor at Bell Labs

  • Pilot ACE: Donald Watts Davies joins Alan Turing to build the fastest digital computer in England at the time, the Pilot ACE

  • Douglas Engelbart: Douglas Engelbart theorises on interactive computing with keyboard and screen display instead of on punchcards

  • Andrew Donald Booth: Andrew Donald Booth invents magnetic drum memory

  • Frederic Calland Williams & Tom Kilburn: Frederic Calland Williams & Tom Kilburn develop the SSEM "Small Scale Experimental Machine" digital CRT storage which was soon nicknamed the "Baby"

  • Claude Shannon: Claude Shannon builds the first machine that plays chess

  • Howard Aiken: Howard Aiken develops the Harvard-MARK III

  • Hideo Yamachito: The first electronic computer is created in Japan by Hideo Yamachito.

  • Alan Turing: Alan Turing publishes his paper Computing Machinery and Intelligence which helps create the Turing Test.

  • LEO: T. Raymond Thompson and John Simmons develop the first business computer, the Lyons Electronic Office (LEO) at Lyons Co.

  • UNIVAC: UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer I) was introduced - the first commercial computer made in the United States and designed principally by John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly

  • EDVAC: The EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) begins performing basic tasks. Unlike the ENIAC, it was binary rather than decimal

  • The IBM 701 becomes available and a total of 19 are sold to the scientific community.

  • John Backus & IBM: John Backus & IBM develop the FORTRAN Computer Programming Language

  • Bell Labs introduces its first transistor computer.

  • Optical fiber was invented by Basil Hirschowitz, C. Wilbur Peters, and Lawrence E. Curtiss

  • Sputnik I and Sputnik II: Sputnik I and Sputnik II are launched by the Russians

  • ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) and NASA is formed

  • Silicon chip: The first integrated circuit, or silicon chip, is produced by the US Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce

  • Paul Baran: Paul Baran theorises on the "survivability of communication systems under nuclear attack", digital technology and symbiosis between humans and machines

  • COBOL: The Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL) programming language is invented.

  • Unimate: General Motors puts the first industrial robot, Unimate, to work in a New Jersey factory.

  • The first computer game: The first computer game Spacewar Computer Game invented BY Steve Russell & MIT

  • The Computer Mouse: Douglas Engelbart invents and patents the first computer mouse (nicknamed the mouse because the tail came out the end)

  • The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) is developed to standardize data exchange among computers.

  • Word processor: IBM introduces the first word processor

  • BASIC: John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz develop Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Language (BASIC)

  • Hypertext: Andries van Dam and Ted Nelson coin the term "hypertext"

  • Floppy Disk: IBM creates the first floppy disk

  • Seymour Cray: Seymour Cray develops the CDC 7600, the first supercomputer

  • Gary Starkweather: Gary Starkweather invents the laser printer whilst working with Xerox

  • ARPANET: The U.S. Department of Defense sets up the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET ) this network was the first building blocks to what the internet is today but originally with the intention of creating a computer network that could

  • RAM: Intel introduces the world's first available dynamic RAM ( random-access memory) chip and the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004.

  • E-mail: E-mail was invented by Ray Tomlinson

  • Liquid Crystal Display ( LCD ): Liquid Crystal Display ( LCD ) was invented by James Fergason

  • Pocket calculator: Pocket calculator was invented by Sharp Corporation

  • Floppy Disk: Floppy Disk was invented by David Noble with IBM - Nicknamed the "Floppy" for its flexibility.

  • First Video Game: Atari releases Pong, the first commercial video game

  • The CD: The compact disc is invented in the United States.

  • Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs: Robert Metcalfe creates the Ethernet, a local-area network (LAN) protocol

  • Personal computer: The minicomputer Xerox Alto (1973) was a landmark step in the development of personal computers

  • Gateways: Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn develop gateway routing computers to negotiate between the various national networks

  • SQL: IBM develops SEQUEL (Structured English Query Language ) now known as SQL

  • WYSIWYG: Charles Simonyi coins the term WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) to describe the ability of being able to display a file or document exactly how it is going to be printed or viewed

  • Portable computers: Altair produces the first portable computer

  • Microsoft Corporation: The Microsoft Corporation was founded April 4, 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800

  • Apple: Apple Computers was founded Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs

  • Apple Computer’s Apple II, the first personal computer with color graphics, is demonstrated

  • MODEM: Ward Christensen writes the programme "MODEM" allowing two microcomputers to exchange files with each other over a phone line

  • Magnetic tape: The first magnetic tape is developed in the US

  • Over half a million computers are in use in the United States.

  • Paul Allen and Bill Gates: IBM hires Paul Allen and Bill Gates to create an operating system for a new PC. They buy the rights to a simple operating system manufactured by Seattle Computer Products and use it as a template to develop DOS.

  • Microsoft: MS-DOS Computer Operating System increases its success

  • WordPerfect: WordPerfect Corporation introduces WordPerfect 1.0 a word processing program

  • Commodore 64: The Commodore 64 becomes the best-selling computer of all time.

  • SMTP: SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is introduced

  • More than 10 million computers are in use in the United States

  • Domain Name System (DNS): Domain Name System (DNS) pioneered by Jon Postel, Paul Mockapetris and Craig Partridge. Seven 'top-level' domain names are initially introduced: edu, com, gov, mil, net, org and int.

  • Windows: Microsoft Windows introduced eliminating the need for a user to have to type each command, like MS-DOS, by using a mouse to navigate through drop-down menus, tabs and icons

  • Apple Macintosh: Apple introduces the Macintosh with mouse and window interface

  • Cyberspace: William Gibson coins the word cyberspace when he publishes Neuromancer

  • Paul Brainard: Paul Brainard introduces Pagemaker for the Macintosh creating the desktop publishing field.

  • Nintendo: The Nintendo Entertainment System makes its debut.

  • More than 30 million computers are in use in the United States.

  • Microsoft introduces Microsoft Works

  • Perl: Larry Wall introduces Perl 1.0

  • Over 45 million PCs are in use in the United States.

  • The Internet, World Wide Web & Tim Berners-Lee: Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau propose a 'hypertext' system starting the modern Internet

  • Microsoft and IBM stop working together to develop operating systems

  • The World Wide Web: The World Wide Web is launched to the public on August 6, 1991

  • At the beginning of the year only 50 World Wide Web servers are known to exist

  • The World Wide Web Consortium is founded by Tim Berners-Lee to help with the development of common protocols for the evolution of the World Wide Web

  • YAHOO: YAHOO is created in April, 1994.

  • Java: Java is introduced

  • Amazon: Amazon.com is founded by Jeff Bezos

  • EBay: EBay is founded by Pierre Omidyar

  • Hotmail: Hotmail is started by Jack Smith and Sabeer Bhatia.

  • WebTV: WebTV is introduced

  • Altavista introduces its free online translator Babel Fish

  • Microsoft acquires Hotmail

  • Google: Google is founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page on September 7, 1998

  • PayPal is founded by Peter Thiel and Max Levchin

  • Xbox: Bill Gates introduces the Xbox on January 7th 2001.

  • Approximately 1 billion PCs been sold

  • PayPal is acquired by eBay

  • September 12: eBay acquires Skype

  • Skype announces that it has over 100 million registered users.