The History of Computing

By mjs5873
  • Jan 1, 1500

    Abacus

  • Napier's Bones (John Napier)

    A logarithmic device with rods divided into squares with ten numbers used for calculating multiplication and division.

  • Slide rule (William Oughtred)

    A ruler that you slide the different parts to get the answer.

  • Schickhard's Calculator (Wilhelm Shickhard)

    A rotating colmn with number. when the lower decimal place reset to zero it would change the one to the left by one.

  • Pascaline (Blaise Pascal)

    A mechanical device that could do addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

  • Leibniz Calculator (Gottfried von Liebniz)

    Another mechanical calculator.

  • de Colmar Arithmometer

    Another mechanical calculator

  • Difference Engine (Charles Babbage)

    Never produced.

  • Analytical Engine (Charles Babbage)

    Never produced.

  • Hollerith Tabulating Machine (Herman Hollerith)

    Calculated the 1890 census using punch cards
  • Period: to

    Atanasoff-Berry Computer

  • Period: to

    First Generation

    The first generation of computers used vacuum tubes. They burned out a lot. Programs were written in machine code.

  • Harvard Mark I

  • Z3

  • COLOSSUS

  • ENIAC

  • UNIVAC

  • Period: to

    Second Generation

    Transistors Replace Vacuum Tubes. Operating Systems become possible.
  • Period: to

    Third Generation

    Integrated circuits appear, allowing thousands of transistors on one chip

  • RCA Spectra 70

  • IBM 360

  • DEC PDP-8

  • Period: to

    Fourth Generation

    General-purpose microprocessors appear, allowing computers to do more than ever before, such as display graphical images.

  • Xerox Alto

  • Mark-8

  • MITS Altair

  • Apple I

  • IBM PC

  • Apple Lisa

  • IBM PC XT

  • Apple Macintosh

  • IBM AS/400 A.K.A. iSeries 400

  • Third Generation

  • Fourth Generation

  • Second Generation