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Invention of the Calculator
In 1939, Bell Telephone Laboratories completes this calculator, designed by scientist George Stibitz. In 1940, Stibitz demonstrated the CNC at an American Mathematical Society conference held at Dartmouth College. This is likely the first example of remote access computing. Calculator Link -
ENIAC
John Mauchly and J. Presper Ecker proposed an electronic digital computer, called the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC), which was built at the Moore School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. ENIAC was completed in 1945 and is regarded as the first successful, general digital computer. ENIAC Link -
Computer Chip Invented
Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce unveil the integrated circuit, known as the computer chip. Kilby was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000 for his work. Computer Chip Link -
Invention of Computer Mouse
Douglas Engelbart invented the computer mouse in 1964 — two decades before it would ship with the first Apple Macintosh. The idea occurred to him when attending a computer graphics conference, and he was brainstorming ways to move an onscreen cursor. It was not unveiled to the public until 1968 by Engelbart. Computer Mouse Link -
Altair Invention
The Altair or Altair 8800 computer from MITS was developed by Henry Edward Roberts and introduced on December 19, 1974. It was the first microcomputer to sell in large numbers. In January 1975, a photograph of the Altair appeared on the cover of the magazine Popular Electronics. The caption read "World's First Minicomptuer Kit to Rival Commercial Models."
Altair Link -
Invention of Microsoft
The January issue of Popular Electronics magazine features the Altair 8080, described as the "world's first minicomputer kit to rival commercial models." Two "computer geeks," Paul Allen and Bill Gates, offer to write software for the Altair, using the new BASIC language. On April 4, after the success of this first endeavor, the two childhood friends form their own software company, Microsoft. Microsoft Link -
Apple I Released
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak start Apple Computers on April Fool’s Day and roll out the Apple I, the first computer with a single-circuit board. Apple I Link -
ACORN Introduced
The first IBM personal computer, code-named “Acorn,” is introduced. It uses Microsoft’s MS-DOS operating system. It has an Intel chip, two floppy disks and an optional color monitor. Sears & Roebuck and Computerland sell the machines, marking the first time a computer is available through outside distributors. It also popularizes the term PC. Acorn Link -
The World Wide Web
A graduate of Oxford University, Tim Berners-Lee invented the Web while at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory, in 1989. He wrote the first web client and server in 1990. World Wide Web -
Archie Search Engine
Archie is the first search engine to ever exist. The FTP site hosted an index of downloadable directory listings. Archie, which is somehow short for “archive” because Archie followed the Unix naming standards, was written in 1990 by Alan Emtage, who was studying at McGill University in Montreal at the time. Archie Link
