The History of Computers

History of Computers Timeline

Period: Oct 20, 1600 to Oct 21, 1980

John Napier

Oct 20, 1614

In 1614, a Scottish mathematician named John Napier invented a set of rods, which have become known as "Napier's Bones," that could be used to perform complex calculations.

Joseph-Maire Jacquard

Oct 20, 1801

Jacquard developed a weaving loom that used punched cards to replicate designs. The introduction of the punched card was a revolutionary step toward computer input.

Charles Babbage

Oct 20, 1832

The first machine that approximated the idea of a computer, that is, input-execution-output, was conceived by Charles Babbage.

Herman Hollerith

Oct 20, 1890

A punched card calculator was created to count the US Census.

Electronic Tube/1st Generation

Oct 20, 1906

Lee De Forest invented the electronic tube. This invention is considered one of the three technological advances that are key to the development of the computer industry.

Machines to break German codes

Oct 20, 1939

electronic machines were developed for the purpose of breaking German encryption codes

1st programmed controlled caculator

Oct 20, 1943

A computer developed at Harvard University by Howard H.Aiken was the first programmed controlled calculator

Colossus computer

Oct 20, 1943

A computer called colossus was completed in Great Britain

Transister

Oct 20, 1947

In 1947 with the development of the transistor The Transistor was developed at bell Laboratories engineers William B.Shockley,Walter H. Brattain and John bardeen

Micro Computer Simon

Oct 20, 1950

The Berkley company offered plans to build a microcomputer called Simon.

Integrated Circuit

Oct 20, 1958

Computing was changed forever by the invention of the integrated circuit.This led to the introduction of the modern computer "chip" which contains the equivalent power of millions of transistors.

Fourth Generation Computer

Oct 20, 1970

Computers built in 1970 through the present are known as fourth generation computers they share many similarities in their design though they vary widely in their complexity and power.

Intel 4004

Oct 20, 1972

The first microprocessor to fuel the personal computer phenomenon.

Scelbi's Computer Kit

Oct 20, 1973

The Scelbi Company offered a computer kit using the Xerox 8008 chip for $565.

The Cray 1

Oct 20, 1976

The Cray 1 was the first supercomputer which was available for purchase. The Cray 1 could do an amazing 150 million calculations per second. Today's supercomputers are more than a thousand times faster.

Apple 1

Oct 20, 1976

Steve Wozniak and a friend, Steve Jobs, completed work on a circuit board for a new microcomputer. They built a housing which included a keyboard for input.

Apple II

Oct 20, 1977

Apple II was even faster and more powerful than Apple 1. It was the first personal computer to absolutely run away in popularity.

Intel Microprocessor

Oct 20, 1978

Intel introduces the 8086 microprocessor. This was a true 16-bit microprocessor, involving the computing power of 29,000 transistors.

Microsoft

Oct 20, 1980

IBM asks Microsoft to write an operating system for their new personal computer. Instead of selling it to IBM they licensed it to their users for a fee. Microsoft has become the giant in the field of software development. With "Word" and "Excel". Then they built the most successful GUI to date, which is known as Windows. The Windows program has been rewritten and developed several times as computer technologies for the PC have advanced.