computer timeline

The following is a brief outline of computer timeline. The list is not a complete one but we have tried to cover most of the great incidents in the development of computer technology.

The table is compiled from different sources. Please remember that mathematical calculators are the base for the development of computer technology.

Computer history full timeline

1623

A machine, which can compute the basic mathematical equation, is invented by German scientist Wilhelm Schikard.

1642

Frenchmathematician Blaise Pascal invented digital adding machine.

1822

British mathematician Charles Babbage introduces the Difference Engine, which is a computing machine. Later on in 1833, he designs Analytical Engine capable of being programmed to perform different tasks.

1939

Bell Labs’s George Stibitz designs the first binary digital computers. This Complex Number Calculator performs mathematical operations in binary form.

1945

Hungarian-American mathematician John von Neumann writes “First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC,” which describes the design of a general-purpose digital electronic computer.

1946

John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert introduced ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) It is the first electronic computer put into operation.

1947

Transistor is invented by John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain, and William B. Shockley of Bell Telephone Laboratories.

1949

British mathematical engineer Maurice Wilkes built and programmed the first stored-program computer. computer timeline continued.

1951

UNIVAC is introduced.

John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert introduced UNIVAC, the successor to the first electronic computer, the ENIAC. UNIVAC is the first computer designed for commercial purpose. The U.S. Census Bureau the first to use UNIVAC.

1953

IBM sells its first electronic computer, the 701.

1955

IBM engineers designed first disk drive for random-access storage of data.

1956

At MIT, researchers build the first general purpose computer built with transistors.

1957

Fortran, the first high-level computer language Developed.

1960

Bell Labs designs, the first commercial modem, for converting digital computer data to analog signals.

1962

The First Computer Game is developed by programmers at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). It is called SPACEWAR.

1964

BASIC developed

BASIC (Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) programming language developed by John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz at Dartmouth. It becomes the popular programming language, which is easy to learn.

1969

ARPAnet, the first computer network, is developed by U.S. Defense Department contractors. It first introduced at Universtity of California and at SRI International and the University of Utah. ARPANET put a foundation for modern internet.

1971

Based on the proposal of Marcian Edward, an American engineer, Intel develops the first microprocessor called Intel 4004.

1970

IBM introduces the 8" Floppy Disk for computer data storage.

1975

The Software giant, Microsoftwasestablished in 1975 by William H. Gates III and Paul Allen. computer timeline continued

1975

The first computer, Altair 8800 introduced. Altair 8800 is taken as the first home computer. Microsoft founders, Bill gate and Paul Allen, developed a version of BASIC programming language for Altair 8800.

1979

William Moggridge of GRiD Systems Corporation designed the first laptop computer.

1980

Seagate Technology built the first hard disk drive for microcomputers.

1981

The first 3 1/2" floppy disk drive introduced by Sony.

1981

Both Philips and Sony create the CD-DA (compact disc digital audio) format.

1984

Macintosh is introduced

Apple introduces its version of personal computer, called Macintosh, the first mouse-driven computer with Graphic Unser Interface (GUI).

1984

CD-ROM introduced

The first CD-ROM drive is introduced by Philips.

1985

Microsoft introduced Windows 1.0, operating system software with graphical user interface (GUI).

1986

Compaq bring forth the Deskpro 386, the first computer to use Intel’s 32-bit chip.

1987

IBM introduces what is commonly called PS/2 machines, which make the 3 1/2" floppy disk drive and VGA video standard for PCs.

1990

British physicist and computer scientist Timothy Berners-Lee developed The World Wide Web using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland.

1995

Microsoft releases Windows 95.

1998

Microsoft releases Windows 98.

2000

Microsoft releases Windows Me (Millennium Edition) and Windows 2000.

2000

Processors, which run at 1GHz, are introduced by both Intel and AMD.

2001

Microsoft introduces Windows XP, the first 32-bit Operating System.

2005

Microsoft introduces, Windows XP x64 Edition that supports processors with 64-bit extensions.

2006

Apple introduces its version of computer system based on PC architecture, which improved its previous non-PC-based Macs

2006

Microsoft introduces Windows Vista for commercial use.

2009

Microsoft releases Windows 7. Comparing to the previous OSs, Windows 7 is more user friendly and significantly improved.

2012

Microsoft released Windows 8

2015

The most famed Windows 10 is released. Windows 10 is a latest release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system