by Mary Bellis
“Who invented the computer?” is not a question with a simple answer. The real answer is that many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention.
This series covers many of the major milestones in computer history (but not all of them) with a concentration on the history of personal home computers.
- computer
| Computer History Year/Enter |
Computer History Inventors/Inventions |
Computer History Description of Event |
|
1936 |
Konrad Zuse – Z1 Computer | First freely programmable computer. |
|
1942 |
John Atanasoff & Clifford Berry ABC Computer |
Who was first in the computing biz is not always as easy as ABC. |
|
1944 |
Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper Harvard Mark I Computer |
The Harvard Mark 1 computer. |
|
1946 |
John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly ENIAC 1 Computer |
20,000 vacuum tubes later… |
|
1948 |
Frederic Williams & Tom Kilburn Manchester Baby Computer & The Williams Tube |
Baby and the Williams Tube turn on the memories. |
|
1947/48 |
John Bardeen, Walter Brattain & Wiliam Shockley The Transistor |
No, a transistor is not a computer, but this invention greatly affected the history of computers. |
|
1951 |
John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly UNIVAC Computer |
First commercial computer & able to pick presidential winners. |
|
1953 |
International Business Machines IBM 701 EDPM Computer |
IBM enters into ‘The History of Computers‘. |
|
1954 |
John Backus & IBM FORTRAN Computer Programming Language |
The first successful high level programming language. |
|
1955 |
Stanford Research Institute, Bank of America, and General Electric ERMA and MICR |
The first bank industry computer – also MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) for reading checks. |
|
1958 |
Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce The Integrated Circuit |
Otherwise known as ‘The Chip’ |
|
1962 |
Steve Russell & MIT Spacewar Computer Game |
The first computer game invented. |
|
1964 |
Douglas Engelbart Computer Mouse & Windows |
Nicknamed the mouse because the tail came out the end. |
|
1969 |
ARPAnet | The original Internet. |
|
1970 |
Intel 1103 Computer Memory | The world’s first available dynamic RAM chip. |
|
1971 |
Faggin, Hoff & Mazor Intel 4004 Computer Microprocessor |
The first microprocessor. |
|
1971 |
Alan Shugart &IBM The “Floppy” Disk |
Nicknamed the “Floppy” for its flexibility. |
|
1973 |
Robert Metcalfe & Xerox The Ethernet Computer Networking |
Networking. |
|
1974/75 |
Scelbi & Mark-8 Altair & IBM 5100 Computers | The first consumer computers. |
|
1976/77 |
Apple I, II & TRS-80 & Commodore Pet Computers | More first consumer computers. |
|
1978 |
Dan Bricklin & Bob Frankston VisiCalc Spreadsheet Software |
Any product that pays for itself in two weeks is a surefire winner. |
|
1979 |
Seymour Rubenstein & Rob Barnaby WordStar Software |
Word Processors. |
|
1981 |
IBM The IBM PC – Home Computer |
From an “Acorn” grows a personal computer revolution |
|
1981 |
Microsoft MS-DOS Computer Operating System |
From “Quick And Dirty” comes the operating system of the century. |
|
1983 |
Apple Lisa Computer | The first home computer with a GUI, graphical user interface. |
|
1984 |
Apple Macintosh Computer | The more affordable home computer with a GUI. |
|
1985 |
Microsoft Windows | Microsoft begins the friendly war with Apple. |
| SERIES | TO BE | CONTINUED |
