History of Computers

  • The first time the word computer was used.

    The first time the word computer was used.
    The word computer was used to describe humans who performed calculations or computations. This usage of the word ended around the 19th century when people realized machines never needed rest and performed better computations than a team of human computers. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm
  • First mechanical computer.

    First mechanical computer.
    Charles Babbage began developing the Difference Engine the first automatic computing engine that was capable of computing several sets of numbers and making hard copies of the results. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm
  • IBM founded

    IBM founded
    IBM was founded in 1911 under the name Computing Tabulating Recording Company. Through a merger of three companies they became the International Business Machines Corporation. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm
  • First programable computer was created.

    First programable computer was created.
    Konrad Zuse created the Z1 in his parents livingroom in 1936 to 1938 and is considered to be the first electro-mechanical binary programmable computer and really the first functional computer. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm
  • Toshiba founded

    Toshiba founded
    Toshiba was created in 1939 when Tanaka Seisakusho and Hakunetsusha were merged into one company. Toshiba had the TAC dighital computer as its first release. http://www.computerhope.com/comp/toshiba.htm
  • Eniac invented

    Eniac invented
    The Eniac was the first digital computer developed by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania. Construction started in 1943 and finished in 1946. It occupied about 1,800 square feet and used about 18,000 vacuum tubes, weighing almost 50 tons. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm
  • The first electric programable computer

    The first electric programable computer
    Tommy Flowers develops the Colossus which was used decrypt German messages in WWII. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm
  • First commercial computer

    First commercial computer
    Konrad Zuse begin working on the Z4 in 1942. He sold it to Eduard Stiefel July 12, 1950. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm
  • The first transistor computer

    The first transistor computer
    The TX-0 ,the first transistorized computer, was demonstrated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1956. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm
  • The first microprocesser

    The first microprocesser
    Intel introduced the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004 on November 15, 1971. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm
  • Microsoft founded

    Microsoft founded
    Microsoft was founded on April 4th 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Since Microsofts start they have a quired a very large number of companies and products. http://www.computerhope.com/comp/msoft.htm
  • The first portible computer

    The first portible computer
    The first portible computer, or "laptop", was the IBM 5100. The IBM 5100 was released to the public in September in 1975. The computer weighed 55 pounds and had a five inch CRT display, tape drive, 1.9MHz PALM processor, and 64KB of RAM. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm
  • Apple 1 created

    Apple 1 created
    Steve Wozoniak designed the Apple 1 in 1976. http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm
  • First IBM clone

    First IBM clone
    The Compaq Portable was made in March 1983. The Compaq Portable was made 100% compatible with the IBM computers. Any software for IBM computers could be run using the Compaq Portable.http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000984.htm
  • Dell Founded

    Dell Founded
    Company started by Michael Dell at the University of Austin Texas. The first computer was the Turbo PC released in 1985. http://www.computerhope.com/comp/dell.htm