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Period: Sep 14, 700 to
Computer History Timeline
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Sep 14, 724
Liang Ling-Can
Liang Ling-Can: Liang Ling-Can invents the first fully mechanical clock -
Sep 14, 1492
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci: 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
John Napier: 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
William Oughtred: William Oughtred develops slide rules -
Calculating Clock
Calculating Clock: Invented by Wilhelm Schickard -
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal: Blaise Pascal invents the the "Pascaline", a mechanical adding machine -
Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Leibniz: Gottfried Leibniz is known as one of the founding fathers of calculus -
Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Leibniz: Gottfried Leibniz is known as one of the founding fathers of calculus -
Arithmometer
Arithmometer: The Arithmometer was the first mass-produced calculator invented by Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar -
Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage: Charles Babbage designs his first mechanical computer -
Analytical Engine
Analytical Engine: The Analytical Engine was invented by Charles Babbage -
Morse code
Morse code: Samuel Morse invents Morse code -
Boolean algebra
Boolean algebra: Boolean algebra is invented by George Boole -
Tabulating Machine
Tabulating Machine: Per Georg Scheutz and his son Edvard invent the Tabulating Machine -
Ramon Verea
Ramon Verea: Ramon Verea invents a fast calculator with an internal multiplication table -
Alexander Graham Bell
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
Comptometer: The Comptometer is an invention of Dorr E. Felt which is operated by pressing keys -
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi: Radio signals were invented by Guglielmo Marconi -
Tabulating Machine Company
Tabulating Machine Company: Herman Hollerith forms the Tabulating Machine Company which later becomes IBM -
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla: Remote control was invented by Nikola Tesla -
Lee De Forest:
Lee De Forest: Lee De Forest invents the electronic tube -
IBM
IBM: IBM is formed on June 15, 1911 -
Philo Farnsworth
Philo Farnsworth: Television Electronic was invented by Philo Farnsworth -
George Stibitz
George Stibitz: George Stibitz develops the Complex Number Calculator - a foundation for digital computers -
John Logie Baird
John Logie Baird: Electro Mechanical television system was invented by John Logie Baird 1924 John Logie Baird: Electro Mechanical television system was invented by John Logie Baird
Walther Bothe: Walther Bothe develops the logic gate -
Andrew Donald Booth
Andrew Donald Booth: Andrew Donald Booth invents magnetic drum memFrederic 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"
ory -
Vannevar Bush:
1930 Vannevar Bush: Vannevar Bush develops a partly electronic Difference Engine -
Kurt Godel
Kurt Godel: Kurt Godel publishes a paper on the use of a universal formal language -
John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly
ENIAC: John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly: John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly develop the ENIAC ( Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) -
Alan Turing:
Alan Turing: Alan Turing develops the concept of a theoretical computing machine -
Konrad Zuse
Konrad Zuse: Konrad Zuse creates the Z1 Computer a binary digital computer using punch ta 1939 George Stibitz: George Stibitz develops the Complex Number Calculator - a foundation for digital computers
Hewlett Packard: William Hewlett and David Packard start Hewlett Packard John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry: John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry develop the ABC (Atanasoft-Berry Computer) prototype pe -
Hewlett Packard
Hewlett Packard: William Hewlett and David Packard start Hewlett Packard -
Enigma:
Enigma: Adolf Hitler uses the EColossus: Alan Turing develops the the code-breaking machine Colossus
nigma encryption machine -
Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper:
Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper: Howard Aiken and Grace Hopper designed the MARK series of computers at Harvard University -
Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper:
1944 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:
1945 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:
1946 F.C. Williams: F.C. Williams develops his cathode-ray tube (CRT) storing device the forerunner to random-access memory (RAM) -
Pilot ACE
Pilot ACE: Donald Watts Davies joins Alan Turing to build the fastest digital computer in England at the time, the Pilot ACE
William Shockley: William Shockley invents the transistor at Bell Labs Douglas Engelbart: Douglas Engelbart theorises on interactive computing with keyboard and screen display instead of on punchcards -
Claude Shannon
Claude Shannon: Claude Shannon builds the first machine that plays chess
Howard Aiken: Howard Aiken develops the Harvard-MARK III -
Hideo Yamachito
1950 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
1951 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
The IBM 701 becomes available and a total of 19 are sold to the scientific community. -
John Backus & IBM
John Backus & IBM: John Backus & IBM develop the FORTRAN Computer Programming Language -
John Backus & IBM:
1954 John Backus & IBM: John Backus & IBM develop the FORTRAN Computer Programming Language -
Bell Labs
Bell Labs introduces its first transistor computer. -
Bell Labs
1955 Bell Labs introduces its first transistor computer. -
Optical fiber
Optical fiber was invented by Basil Hirschowitz, C. Wilbur Peters, and Lawrence E. Curtiss -
Sputnik I and Sputnik II:
Sputnik I and Sputnik II: Sputnik I and Sputnik II are launched by the Russians -
ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency)
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
1959 Paul Baran: Paul Baran theorises on the "survivability of communication systems under nuclear attack", digital technology and symbiosis between humans and machines -
COBOL
1960 COBOL: The Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL) programming language is invented. -
Unimate:
1961 Unimate: General Motors puts the first industrial robot, Unimate, to work in a New Jersey factory. -
The first computer game:
1962 The first computer game: The first computer game Spacewar Computer Game invented BY Steve Russell & MIT -
The Computer Mouse
1963 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
1964 Word processor: IBM introduces the first word processor
BASIC: John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz develop Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Language (BASIC) -
Hypertext:
1965 Hypertext: Andries van Dam and Ted Nelson coin the term "hypertext" -
Seymour Cray
969 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 withstand any type of disaster. -
RAM: Intel
1970 RAM: Intel introduces the world's first available dynamic RAM ( random-access memory) chip and the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004. -
First Video Game
1972 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:
1973 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:
1974 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
1975 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
1976 Apple: Apple Computers was founded Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs -
Apple Computer’s Apple II
1977 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
1978 Magnetic tape: The first magnetic tape is developed in the US -
1979 Over half a million computers are in use in the United States.
1979 Over half a million computers are in use in the United States. -
Microsoft:
1981 Microsoft: MS-DOS Computer Operating System increases its success -
WordPerfect:
1982 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 -
Domain Name System
1983 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
1984 Apple Macintosh: Apple introduces the Macintosh with mouse and window interface
Cyberspace: William Gibson coins the word cyberspace when he publishes Neuromancer -
Paul Brainard
1985 Paul Brainard: Paul Brainard introduces Pagemaker for the Macintosh creating the desktop publishing field. Nintendo: The Nintendo Entertainment System makes its debut. -
30 million computers
1986 More than 30 million computers are in use in the United States. -
Microsoft introduces Microsoft Works
1987 Microsoft introduces Microsoft Works Perl: Larry Wall introduces Perl 1.0 -
PCs
1988 Over 45 million PCs are in use in the United States. -
The Internet, World Wide Web & Tim Berners-Lee:
1990 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
1991 The World Wide Web is launched to the public on August 6, 1991 -
50 World Wide Web
1993 At the beginning of the year only 50 World Wide Web servers are known to exist -
Tim Berners-Lee
1994 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
1995 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
1996 WebTV: WebTV is introduced -
Altavista
1997 Altavista introduces its free online translator Babel Fish Microsoft acquires Hotmail -
Google
1998 Google: Google is founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page on September 7, 1998
PayPal is founded by Peter Thiel and Max Levchin -
Xbox:
2001 Xbox: Bill Gates introduces the Xbox on January 7th 2001. -
PCs
2002 Approximately 1 billion PCs been sold
PayPal is acquired by eBay -
Skype
2005 September 12: eBay acquires Skype -
Skype announces that it has over 100 million
2006 Skype announces that it has over 100 million registered users. -
Floppy Disk
1967 Floppy Disk: IBM creates the first floppy disk -
William Stanley Jevons
William Stanley Jevons: William Stanley Jevons designs a practical logic machine -
Herman Hollerith
Herman Hollerith: Herman Hollerith invents a counting machine which increment mechanical counters -
Adolf Hitler
: Adolf Hitler uses the Enigma encryptColossus: Alan Turing develops the the code-breaking machine Colossus
machine -
Paul Allen and Bill Gates:
1980 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. -
E-mail:
1971 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.