History of Computers

3000 B.C.

The Abacus – a rudimentary first computing device developed.

Abacus was the first mechanical calculating device for counting of large numbers. The word Abacus means calculating board, It consists of bars in horizontal positions each having 10 beads representing units, tens, hundreds etc.

A.D. 700-900

Europeans started using Hindu-Arabic math.

1600

Hindu-Arabic math became popular in Europe.

1617

John Napier introduced logarithms in 1614.Napier’s Bones, a mechanical device was built in 1917 for the purpose of multiplication by an English mathematician John Napier.

1642

Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and experimental physicist, built the first mechanical digital calculator, Pascaline, that could perform addition and subtraction on whole numbers.

1694

German mathematician Gottfried Wilhem von Leibniz extended the Pascal’s design to perform multiplication, division and to find square root. This machine is known as Stepped Reckoner. It was first mass produced calculating device, which was designed to perform multiplication by repeated addition.

1822

Charles babbage, Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University and considered as “Father of computers”. Invented different engine with mechanical memory to strong results.

1840s

August Ada, “The First programmer” suggested binary data storage rather than the decimal.

1850s

George Boole realized that complex mathematical problems could be solved by reducing them to a series of affirmatively or negatively answered questions. The binary system of 1’s for positive answers and 0’s for negative ones could thus be implemented. This theory of Boolean logic became fundamentals to the design of computer circuity.

1880s

Dr. Herman Hollerith, developed a punched card that would contain data coded in form of punched holes.

1939

The first prototype electronic computer was conceived by Dr. John Vincent Atanasoff . Atanasoff teamed up with Clifford Berry to build the first electronic computer. They called it “Atanasoff-Berry Computer” or ABC. The ABC used vaccum tubes for storage and arithmetic logic function.

1940s

Von Neumann presented a paper outlining the stored program concept.

1944

Harvard Aiken in partnership with IBM built the Mark I, the first automatic, sequence controlled calculator, used by military to compute ballistics data.

1947

Mauchly and Eckert built ENIAC (Electronic Numeric Integrator and Calculator). It was a second general purpose electronic digital computer.

1949

A team headed by Maurice Wilkes at Cambridge University developed EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) which was also based on John Von Neuman’s stored program concept. This machine used mercury delay lines for memory, and vacuum tubes for logic.

1949

Mauchly, Eckert and Von Neumann built EDVAC ( Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer), the second stored program computer.

1949

At Harvard, An Wang, founder of Wang Laboratories developed magnetic-core memories.

1949

Jay Forrester at MIT organized magnetic core memory to be more efficient.

1950

Turing built the ACE (Automatic Computing engine), which can be considered the first programmable digital computer.

1950s

Read Admiral Grace Hopper developed UNIVAC I Compiler.

1951

Mauchly and Eckert built the first computer, designed and sold commercially UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer)

1957

Backus who was one of a group of IBM (International business Machines) Engineers developed FORTRAN (Formula Translation Language)

1959

Kilby and Noyce developed and perfect the integrates circuit, to be used in later computers.

1959

Hopper developed COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) programming language.

1960s

Gene Amdahl designed IBM System/360 series of Mainframe computers, the first general purpose digital computers to use integrates circuits.

1963

Oisen with Digital Equipment Corporation produced the PDP-1 (Program Data Processor), the first mini computer.

1965

Dr. John Kemeny, a Mathematics Professor at Dartmouth and his colleague, Dr. Thomas Kurtz, developed the computer language BASIC (Beginner’s All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code).

1970

Intel created a memory chip that could store kilobit information. Another innovation at Intel came from Ted Hoff, who has integrated circuit by compressing twelve chips into four. The arithmetic and logic functions of several chips could be contained on one chip, called microprocessor. Hoffs microprocessor was called the Intel 4004.

1975

H. Edward Roberts, an electrical engineer who is now generally known as the “Father of the Micro Computer” designed the first Micro Computer.

1976

Seymour Cray’s Cray-I Super Computer was delivered to Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico.

1977

Stephan Wozniak, technical expert and Steven Jobs designed and built the first Apple Micro Computer.

1980s

Lower cost computer systems- Personal computers intended for home use were produced. This transformation was the result of the invention of the microprocessor, a processor on a single integrated circuit (IC) chip. New program products introduced.