Comparing Timelines
Exploring the overlapping histories of "History of computing" and "Islamic Golden Age".
History of computing
-2300 - 1999
Islamic Golden Age
750 - 1350
2300 BCE
Sumerian Abacus Invented
The earliest known tool used for computation, the Sumerian abacus, was invented in Babylon. Its original style of usage involved lines drawn in sand with pebbles, representing the first systematic approach to mechanical calculation.
771 BCE
South-Pointing Chariot Invented
Ancient China invented the south-pointing chariot, the first known geared mechanism to use a differential gear. This mechanical innovation would later become crucial in the development of analog computers.
150 BCE
Chinese Abacus Development
The Chinese developed a more sophisticated abacus around the 2nd century BC, improving upon the earlier Sumerian design. This tool became fundamental to mathematical computation in East Asia for centuries.
100 BCE
Antikythera Mechanism Created
The Antikythera mechanism was designed to calculate astronomical positions, believed to be the earliest known geared computing device. Discovered in 1901 in a Greek shipwreck, it demonstrates sophisticated ancient engineering.
750 CE
Beginning of the Abbasid Dynasty
The Abbasid dynasty came to power, marking the beginning of what many consider the Islamic Golden Age. This period saw the establishment of organized scholarship and the flourishing of science and culture under caliphal patronage.
762 CE
Capital Moved to Baghdad
The Abbasid capital was moved to Baghdad, which became the world's largest city at the time. This relocation facilitated the gathering of scholars from across the Muslim world and the translation of classical knowledge into Arabic and Persian.
786 CE
Reign of Harun al-Rashid Begins
The reign of Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid began, traditionally marking the start of the Islamic Golden Age. His reign saw the inauguration of the House of Wisdom and unprecedented cultural and scientific flourishing.
805 CE
First Islamic Hospital Built in Baghdad
The earliest known Islamic hospital was built in Baghdad by order of Harun Al-Rashid. This marked the beginning of systematic medical care and hospital administration in the Islamic world.
809 CE
End of Harun al-Rashid's Reign
The reign of Harun al-Rashid ended, marking the conclusion of what many consider the peak period of early Islamic Golden Age prosperity and cultural achievement.
825 CE
House of Wisdom Established
The House of Wisdom was established in Baghdad by Caliph al-Mansur, modeled after the academy of Jundishapur. It became the premier center for translation and scholarship, where scholars translated Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit works into Arabic.
833 CE
Death of al-Ma'mun
The death of Caliph al-Ma'mun marked the beginning of territorial losses and political decline that would gradually weaken the Islamic empire, according to some historians marking the beginning of the end of the golden age.
847 CE
Great Mosque of Samarra Completed
The Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq was completed, featuring innovative hypostyle architecture with rows of columns supporting a flat base and a huge spiralling minaret, representing architectural achievements of the period.
859 CE
University of Al Karaouine Founded
The University of Al Karaouine was founded in Fez, Morocco. It is listed in The Guinness Book of Records as the world's oldest degree-granting university, representing the institutionalization of higher learning in the Islamic world.
927 CE
Nastulus Creates Earliest Known Astrolabe
The earliest known astrolabe in existence today was made by Nastulus, representing the sophisticated astronomical instruments developed during the Islamic Golden Age for navigation and timekeeping.
964 CE
Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi Describes Andromeda Galaxy
Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi described a 'nebulous spot' in the Andromeda constellation in his Book of Fixed Stars, providing the first definitive reference to what is now known as the Andromeda Galaxy.
978 CE
Al-Azhar Mosque Instruction Begins
Organized instruction began in the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, which became one of the most important centers of Islamic learning and is now recognized as a university, representing the institutionalization of religious and secular education.
982 CE
Important Baghdad Hospital Established
The most important of Baghdad's hospitals was established by the Buyid ruler 'Adud al-Dawla, representing the advancement of medical care and hospital administration during the Islamic Golden Age.
1070 CE
Omar Khayyam's Treatise on Algebra
Persian mathematician Omar Khayyam completed his 'Treatise on Demonstrations of Problems of Algebra', which was a significant step in the development of algebra and part of the body of Persian mathematics eventually transmitted to Europe.
1154 CE
Al-Idrisi Creates World Atlas
Muhammad al-Idrisi created the Tabula Rogeriana, considered the best maps of the Middle Ages. These maps were later used by explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama for their voyages to America and India.
1258 CE
Mongol Siege of Baghdad
The Mongol siege of Baghdad resulted in the destruction of the city and the House of Wisdom, traditionally marking the end of the Islamic Golden Age. This event devastated the center of Islamic learning and scholarship.
1350 CE
Ibn al-Shatir's Astronomical Model
Ibn al-Shatir, working in Damascus, employed the Tusi-couple to successfully eliminate the equant and other objectionable circles from Ptolemaic astronomy, creating a mathematically sound celestial model that influenced later European astronomy.
1886 CE
Charles Sanders Peirce Describes Electrical Logic
In a letter, Charles Sanders Peirce described how logical operations could be carried out by electrical switching circuits. He also showed that NOR gates alone could reproduce the functions of all other logic gates, laying groundwork for digital logic.
1907 CE
Lee De Forest's Vacuum Tube Logic Gate
Lee De Forest's modification of the Fleming valve could be used as a logic gate, representing an early step toward electronic computing. This advancement would eventually lead to vacuum tube computers.
1924 CE
First Electronic AND Gate
Walther Bothe invented the first modern electronic AND gate, a fundamental component of digital logic. This innovation earned him part of the 1954 Nobel Prize in physics for his contributions to electronic circuits.
1931 CE
Digital Electronics for Computing Proposed
C. E. Wynn-Williams published 'The Use of Thyratrons for High Speed Automatic Counting of Physical Phenomena,' the first recorded idea of using digital electronics for computing, marking a conceptual breakthrough.
1936 CE
Switching Circuit Theory Published
NEC engineer Akira Nakashima, Claude Shannon, and Victor Shestakov published papers introducing switching circuit theory, using digital electronics for Boolean algebraic operations. This work became fundamental to digital computer design.
Alan Turing's 'On Computable Numbers' Published
Alan Turing published his seminal paper 'On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem,' introducing the concept of the Universal Turing machine and establishing theoretical foundations for computation.
1939 CE
First Digital Electronic Computer Developed
Arthur Halsey Dickinson developed the first digital electronic computer at IBM Patent Department in Endicott, New York. This computer featured a keyboard, processor, and electronic output display, establishing key components of modern computers.
Atanasoff-Berry Computer Completed
John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry completed their experimental model of the Atanasoff-Berry computer (ABC), the first binary digital electronic computing device. Though not programmable, it executed addition and subtraction in binary code.
1941 CE
Z3 Computer Built
German inventor Konrad Zuse built the Z3 computer, the first programmable, fully automatic computing machine. Though not electronic, it demonstrated the feasibility of programmable computation and influenced future computer development.
1946 CE
ENIAC Announced
The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) was announced to the public as the first electronic general-purpose computer. It was Turing-complete, digital, and capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems.
1947 CE
Transistor Invented
William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at Bell Labs invented the first working transistor, the point-contact transistor. This revolutionary device would eventually replace vacuum tubes and enable miniaturization of computers.
1948 CE
Manchester Baby First Program Run
The Manchester Baby, the first electronic stored-program computer, ran its first program. Built at Victoria University of Manchester by Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn and Geoff Tootill, it demonstrated the stored-program concept.
1950 CE
First Computerized Weather Forecast
The first computerized weather forecast was performed by a team including American meteorologists Jule Charney, Philip Duncan Thompson, Larry Gates, Norwegian meteorologist Ragnar Fjørtoft, and mathematician John von Neumann using ENIAC.
1953 CE
First Transistorized Computer Built
At the University of Manchester, a team under Tom Kilburn designed and built the first transistorized computer, called the Transistor Computer. This machine used newly developed transistors instead of vacuum tubes, marking a major technological shift.
1964 CE
CDC 6600 Supercomputer Built
The Control Data Corporation (CDC) 6600, built by Seymour Cray, became the first widely acknowledged supercomputer. With a maximum speed of 40 MHz and 3 million FLOPS, it established the foundation for high-performance computing.
1968 CE
Silicon-Gate MOS Integrated Circuit Developed
Federico Faggin at Fairchild Semiconductor developed the silicon-gate MOS integrated circuit. This breakthrough technology enabled the creation of high-density integrated circuits and led directly to the development of microprocessors.
1970 CE
Intel 4004 Microprocessor Developed
The Intel 4004, the first single-chip microprocessor, was developed by Intel's Federico Faggin, Marcian Hoff, and Stanley Mazor, along with Busicom's Masatoshi Shima. This innovation launched the microcomputer revolution.
1976 CE
First 16-bit Microprocessor Released
Texas Instruments released the TMS9900 processor, the first fully 16-bit microprocessor. They used this advanced processor in the TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A computers, demonstrating increased processing capabilities.
1983 CE
Apple Lisa Released
Apple released the Lisa, one of the first personal computers with a graphical user interface (GUI) sold commercially. Running on the Motorola 68000 CPU with 1MB of RAM and dual floppy drives, it pioneered user-friendly computing interfaces.
1989 CE
Macintosh Portable Released
Apple released the Macintosh Portable, weighing 16 pounds and costing $7,300. Despite being one of the most powerful laptops available at launch, its high price and weight led to poor sales and discontinuation after two years.
1998 CE
First Linux Supercomputer Built
David Bader developed the first Linux supercomputer using commodity parts at the University of New Mexico. The prototype used eight dual 333 MHz Intel Pentium II computers, leading to the development of 'RoadRunner' for national scientific use.
1999 CE
RoadRunner Supercomputer Deployed
RoadRunner, the first Linux supercomputer for open use by the national science and engineering community, was put into production use. At deployment, it was considered one of the 100 fastest supercomputers in the world.