History of Computer Programming

Discovery of Electricity

Jun 15, 1752

Benjamin Franklin discovered that lightning was electrical, by flying a kite with a key. Obviously, all modern technology requires electricity to function.

Plan Calculus

Oct 8, 1945

Konrad Zuse creates the first algorithmic programming language.

Grace Hopper and the A-O

Mar 4, 1952

Allowed computers to take English commands as opposed to commands with numbers.

A Programming Language

Oct 8, 1962

Kenneth Iverson’s book "A Programming Language" shows mathematical notation that he had developed in the late 1950s

SABRE

Oct 8, 1964

SABRE was a reservartion system for American Airline, which was one of the first of its kind.

Pascal

Oct 8, 1970

Pascal was a programming language that was capable of combining scientific and commercial functions.

WordStar

Oct 8, 1978

First word processing systems for personal computers.

VisiCalc

Oct 8, 1979

A program that turned the personal computer into a business focused-system.

Microsoft Word

Oct 8, 1983

Microsoft Word first introduced onto personal computers by Microsoft.

Photoshop

Oct 8, 1990

Photoshop is first released, which allowed photos to be edited and manipulated.

Java

Oct 8, 1995

Java 1.0 is released, which allows programs to run on any system.

Windows XP

Oct 8, 2001

Microsoft drops Windows XP, which was the most advanced OS to the date, and it was one of the most successful versions of Windows of all time.