History of Computers: A Brief Timeline

By Blacris

  • The first computer was built

  • Punch card system

  • Turing machine

    Capable of computing anything that is computable.

  • First computer without gears, cams, belts or shafts.

  • A computer that can solve 29 equations simultaneously.

    This marks the first time a computer is able to store
    information on its main memory.

  • Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC)

  • UNIVAC, the first commercial computer for business and government applications.

  • The invention of the transistor.

  • The first computer languege (COBOL)

  • The FORTRAN programming language

  • Computer chip.

  • A prototype of the modern computer, with a mouse and a graphical user interface (GUI).

  • UNIX, an operating system that addressed compatibility issues.

  • The first Dynamic Access Memory (DRAM) chip.

  • Invent the “floppy disk,” allowing data to be shared among computers

  • Ethernet for connecting multiple computers and other hardware.

  • World's first minicomputer kit to rival commercial models.

  • Steve Jobsand Steve Wozniak start Apple Computers on April Fool’s Day

  • A number of personal computers hit the market,

  • Introduction of VisiCalc

  • MicroPro International releases WordStar

  • FIrst IBM personal computer

  • Apple’s Lisa is the first personal computer with a GUI

  • Microsoft announces Windows,

  • Compaq brings the Deskpro 386 to market

  • HyperText Markup Language (HTML) by Tim Berners-Lee

  • Use of graphics and music on PCs

  • PCs becomegaming machines

  • Sergey Brin and Larry Page develop the Google search engine

  • Microsoft invests $150 million in Apple

  • The termWi-Fibecomes part of the computing language

  • Apple unveils theMac OS Xoperating system

  • Thefirst 64-bit processor

  • Mozilla’sFirefox1.0 challenges Microsoft’sInternet Explorer

  • YouTube, a video sharing service, is founded

  • Apple introduces theMacBook Pro and Nintendo’sWiigame console

  • TheiPhone

  • Microsoft launchesWindows 7

  • Apple unveils theiPad

  • Google releases the Chromebook

    a laptop that runs the Google Chrome OS

  • Facebook gains 1 billion users on October 4

  • Apple releases the Apple Watch. Microsoft releases Windows 10