Computer History Timeline
 

Computer History Timeline

Computer History Timeline
The dates, people and events that led to the first computers
The code-breaking machine Colossus
Alan Turing and Computing Machinery
Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Language (BASIC)
The development of personal computers
History & Timelines Index
 
Timelines of Events
Next Event Timeline

History Timelines of the United States of America

  2400 BCAbacus: The abacus, the first known calculator, was invented in Babylonia 
     
  500 BCPanini: Introduced the forerunner to modern formal language theory 
     
  300 BCPingala: Pingala invented the binary number system 
     
  87 BCAntikythera Mechanism: Built in Rhodes to track movement of the stars 
     
  60 ADHeron of Alexandria: Heron of Alexandria invents machines which follow a series of instructions 
     
  724Liang Ling-Can: Liang Ling-Can invents the first fully mechanical clock 
     
  1492Leonardo 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 
     
  1614John 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 
     
  1622William Oughtred: William Oughtred develops slide rules 
     
  1623Calculating Clock: Invented by Wilhelm Schickard 
     
  1642Blaise Pascal: Blaise Pascal invents the the "Pascaline", a mechanical adding machine 
     
  1671Gottfried Leibniz: Gottfried Leibniz is known as one of the founding fathers of calculus 
     
  1801Joseph-Marie Jacquard: Joseph-Marie Jacquard invents an automatic loom controlled by punched cards 
     
  1820Arithmometer: The Arithmometer was the first mass-produced calculator invented by Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar 
     
  1822Charles Babbage: Charles Babbage designs his first mechanical computer 
     
  1834Analytical Engine: The Analytical Engine was invented by Charles Babbage 
     
  1835Morse code: Samuel Morse invents Morse code 
     
  1848Boolean algebra: Boolean algebra is invented by George Boole 
     
  1853Tabulating Machine: Per Georg Scheutz and his son Edvard invent the Tabulating Machine 
     
  1869William Stanley Jevons: William Stanley Jevons designs a practical logic machine 
     
  1878Ramon Verea: Ramon Verea invents a fast calculator with an internal multiplication table 
     
  1880Alexander Graham Bell: Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone called the Photophone 
     
  1884Comptometer: The Comptometer is an invention of Dorr E. Felt which is operated by pressing keys 
     
  1890Herman Hollerith: Herman Hollerith invents a counting machine which  increment mechanical counters 
     
  1895Guglielmo Marconi: Radio signals were invented by Guglielmo Marconi 
     
  1896Tabulating Machine Company:  Herman Hollerith forms the Tabulating Machine Company which later becomes IBM 
     
  1898Nikola Tesla: Remote control was invented by  Nikola Tesla  
     
  1906Lee De Forest: Lee De Forest invents the electronic tube 
     
  1911IBM: IBM is formed on June 15, 1911 
     
  1923Philo Farnsworth: Television Electronic was invented by  Philo Farnsworth 
     
  1924John Logie Baird:  Electro Mechanical television system was invented by John Logie Baird

Walther Bothe: Walther Bothe develops the logic gate
 
     
  1930Vannevar Bush: Vannevar Bush develops a partly electronic Difference Engine 
     
  1931Kurt Godel:  Kurt Godel publishes a paper on the use of a universal formal language 
     
  1937Alan Turing: Alan Turing develops the concept of a theoretical computing machine 
     
  1938Konrad Zuse: Konrad Zuse creates the Z1 Computer a binary digital computer using punch tape 
     
  1939George 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
 
     
  1943Enigma: Adolf Hitler uses the Enigma encryption machine

Colossus: Alan Turing develops the code-breaking machine Colossus
 
     
  1944Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper: Howard Aiken and Grace Hopper designed the MARK series of computers at Harvard University 
     
  1945ENIAC: 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
 
     
  1946F.C. Williams: F.C. Williams develops his cathode-ray tube (CRT) storing device the forerunner to  random-access memory (RAM) 
     
  1947Pilot 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
 
     
  1948Andrew Donald Booth: Andrew Donald Booth invents magnetic drum memory

Frederic 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"
 
     
  1949Claude Shannon: Claude Shannon builds the first machine that plays chess

Howard Aiken: Howard Aiken develops the Harvard-MARK III
 
     
  1950Hideo 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.
 
     
  1951LEO:  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
 
     
  1953The IBM 701 becomes available and a total of 19 are sold to the scientific community. 
     
  1954John Backus & IBM: John Backus & IBM develop the FORTRAN Computer Programming Language 
     
  1955Bell Labs introduces its first transistor computer. 
     
  1956Optical fiber was invented by  Basil Hirschowitz, C. Wilbur Peters, and Lawrence E. Curtiss 
     
  1957Sputnik I and Sputnik II: Sputnik I and Sputnik II are launched by the Russians 
     
  1958ARPA (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
 
     
  1959Paul Baran: Paul Baran theorises on the "survivability of communication systems under nuclear attack", digital technology and symbiosis between humans and machines 
     
  1960COBOL: The Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL) programming language is invented. 
     
  1961Unimate: General Motors puts the first industrial robot, Unimate, to work in a New Jersey factory. 
     
  1962The first computer game:  The first computer game Spacewar Computer Game invented BY Steve Russell & MIT 
     
  1963The 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.
 
     
  1964Word processor: IBM introduces the first word processor

BASIC: John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz develop Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Language (BASIC)
 
     
  1965Hypertext:  Andries van Dam and Ted Nelson coin the term "hypertext" 
     
  1967Floppy Disk: IBM creates the first floppy disk 
     
  1969Seymour 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.
 
     
  1970RAM: Intel  introduces the world's first available dynamic RAM ( random-access memory) chip and the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004. 
     
  1971E-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.
 
     
  1972First Video Game: Atari releases Pong, the first commercial video game

The CD: The compact disc is invented in the United States.
 
     
  1973Robert 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
 
     
  1974SQL: 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
 
     
  1975Portable 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
 
     
  1976Apple: Apple Computers was founded Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs 
     
  1977Apple 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
 
     
  1978Magnetic tape: The first magnetic tape is developed in the US 
     
  1979Over half a million computers are in use in the United States. 
     
  1980Paul 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. 
     
  1981Microsoft: MS-DOS Computer Operating System increases its success 
     
  1982WordPerfect: 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
 
     
  1983More 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
 
     
  1984Apple Macintosh: Apple introduces the Macintosh with mouse and window interface

Cyberspace: William Gibson coins the word cyberspace when he publishes Neuromancer
 
     
  1985Paul Brainard: Paul Brainard introduces Pagemaker for the Macintosh creating the desktop publishing field.

Nintendo: The Nintendo Entertainment System makes its debut.
 
     
  1986More than 30 million computers are in use in the United States. 
     
  1987Microsoft introduces Microsoft Works

Perl: Larry Wall introduces Perl 1.0
 
     
  1988Over 45 million PCs are in use in the United States. 
     
  1990The 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
 
     
  1991The World Wide Web: The World Wide Web is launched to the public on August 6, 1991 
     
  1993At the beginning of the year only 50 World Wide Web servers are known to exist 
     
  1994The 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.
 
     
  1995Java: 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.
 
     
  1996WebTV: WebTV is introduced 
     
  1997Altavista introduces its free online translator Babel Fish

Microsoft acquires Hotmail
 
     
  1998Google: Google is founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page on September 7, 1998

PayPal is founded by Peter Thiel and Max Levchin
 
     
  2001Xbox: Bill Gates introduces the Xbox on January 7th 2001. 
     
  2002Approximately 1 billion PCs been sold

PayPal is acquired by eBay
 
     
  2005September 12: eBay acquires Skype 
     
  2006Skype announces that it has over 100 million registered users. 
     
Computer History Timeline

Computer History Timeline Timeline
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Computer History Timeline

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