ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Glen Beck (background) and Betty Snyder (foreground) program the ENIAC in building 328 at the Ballistic Research Laboratory (BRL).
History of computing
A comprehensive timeline covering the evolution of computing from ancient calculation methods to modern supercomputers, spanning from early mathematical tools to digital electronic computers and personal computing.
2300 BCE - 2086 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.
795 BCE - 581 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 - 64 CE
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.
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.
1785 CE - 1999 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
