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2000 BCE
The Abacus
The first calculator was known as an abacus, a hand operated mechanical calculator that used beads and rods. It was first used by the Egyptians around 2000 BC. This device made addition and subtraction faster, and have less errors. It was used for the next 3600 years until the first mechanical calculators were made in Europe http://www.thecalculatorsite.com/articles/units/history-of-the-calculator-2.php?page=2 http://bit.ly/2dcCeOB -
First Mechanical Calculator
The first mechanical calculator appeared in 1642. It was invented by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal. The device used gears and could add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Pascal’s calculator had flaws and failed to sell. This product made calculation much faster and more precise. http://www.thecalculatorsite.com/articles/units/history-of-the-calculator-2.php?page=2 http://bit.ly/2dKpgJR -
First Generation Calculation Computer
The first general calculation computer was invented in 1946 and was called the ENIAC. It was capable of solving equations involving large numbers and could perform the four basic functions, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. It was 1000 times faster than the electro mechanical computers but required 1800 square feet of floor space, weighed 27 tonnes, and consumed the power of a town. http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/birth-of-the-computer/4/78 http://bit.ly/2dwRqF5 -
The First All-Electronic Desktop Calculator
The first all-electronic desktop calculator was invented in 1961 in Britain by Control Systems Ltd. It was called ANITA (A New Inspiration To Arithmetic/Accounting). The only mechanical parts in the calculator were the push button keys, the rest was done electronically. It had an illuminated 12-place display and was sold around 1,000$ which is around 8,000$ today. This made calculation relatively widespread. http://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/calculators/1/60/910 http://bit.ly/2dcYsDJ -
The First Graphing Calculator
The world’s first graphing calculator was invented in 1985 by Casio. It was still primitive compared to today’s calculators, only having an eight line dot matrix, a black and white display, and less than half a kilobyte of memory. But, it proved the concept with its 82 scientific functions and the enlarged display. This gave us more things that we could use the calculator for including graphing http://www.meta-calculator.com/blog/history-of-graphing-calculators-and-tools/ http://bit.ly/2dwR4Os -
Calculators in Cell Phones
In 1993 IBM Simon invented the Personal Communicator. It was a cell phone with an added PDA functions like email, calendar, and a calculator. It was the beginning of calculators in cell phones. This made calculators widely accessible and available for everyone to use. http://www.thecalculatorsite.com/articles/units/history-of-the-calculator-2.php?page=2 http://bit.ly/2cQKIvb -
Today
In the mid 2000s, many of the modern smart phones were introduced and with them came a new way of calculation. Calculators are now in every phone, every tablet, and in every app store. Calculators now come in many different variations, from a 1$ simple calculator to a 600$ fully featured graphing calculator. This has made calculation available to nearly everyone. http://www.thecalculatorsite.com/articles/units/history-of-the-calculator-2.php?page=2 http://bit.ly/2dqeVCl
