Computer History Timeline

Computer Event in 1939

Jan 1, 1939

Timeline of Computer History First HP (Hewlett-Packard) was founded in a garage

First Calculator

Jan 1, 1940

Timeline of Computer History First known calculator in the world. First seen and used in New York City by George Stibitz

First german made computer and first decrypting device

Jan 1, 1941

Z3 computer, first german computer was bombed in Berlin late 1943, but a second one was later made. "Bombe" was the first "computer" made to decrypt Nazi military communications

The Atanasoff-Berry Computer

Sep 5, 1942

The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) is completed. After successfully demonstrating a proof-of-concept prototype in 1939, Atanasoff received funds to build the full-scale machine.

The ERA 1101

Sep 5, 1950

the first commercially produced computer; the company´s first customer was the U.S. Navy. It held 1 million bits on its magnetic drum, the earliest magnetic storage devices. Drums registered information as magnetic pulses in tracks around a metal cylinder. Read/write heads both recorded and recovered the data. Drums eventually stored as many as 4,000 words and retrieved any one of them in as little as five-thousandths of a second.

The IBM 650

Jan 1, 1954

The IBM 650 magnetic drum calculator established itself as the first mass-produced computer, with the company selling 450 in one year. Spinning at 12,500 rpm, the 650´s magnetic data-storage drum allowed much faster access to stored material than drum memory machines.

Evans & Sutherland is formed

Jan 1, 1968

In 1968, David Evans and Ivan Sutherland, both professors of computer science, founded a company to develop a special graphics computer known as a frame buffer. This device was a special high-speed memory used for capturing video

The first e-mail

Jan 1, 1971

Ray Tomlinson of the research firm Bolt, Beranek and Newman sent the first e-mail, Tomlinson, who is credited with being the one to decide on the "@" sign for use in e-mail, sent his message over a military network called ARPANET.

HP-35 Calculator

Jan 1, 1972

"a fast, extremely accurate electronic slide rule" with a solid-state memory similar to that of a computer. accept and display entries in a form similar to standard scientific notation

The Apple II

Jan 1, 1977

The Apple II became an instant success when released in 1977 with its printed circuit motherboard, switching power supply, keyboard, case assembly, manual, game paddles, A/C powercord, and cassette tape with the computer game "Breakout." When hooked up to a color television set, the Apple II produced brilliant color graphics

the Osborne I

Jan 1, 1981

Adam Osborne completed the first portable computer, the Osborne I, which weighed 24 pounds and cost $1,795. The price made the machine especially attractive, as it included software worth about $1,500. The machine featured a 5-inch display, 64 kilobytes of memory, a modem, and two 5 1/4-inch floppy disk drives.

Commodore introduces the Commodore 64

Jan 1, 1982

The C64, as it was better known, sold for $595, came with 64KB of RAM and featured impressive graphics. Thousands of software titles were released over the lifespan of the C64. By the time the C64 was discontinued in 1993, it had sold more than 22 million units and is recognized by the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records as the greatest selling single computer model of all time.

The Amiga 1000

Jan 1, 1985

Commodore’s Amiga 1000 sold for $1,295 dollars (without monitor) and had audio and video capabilities beyond those found in most other personal computers. It developed a very loyal following and add-on components allowed it to be upgraded easily.

Pixar´s "Tin Toy"

Jan 1, 1988

Pixar´s "Tin Toy" became the first computer-animated film to win an Academy Award, taking the Oscar for best animated short film. A wind-up toy first encountering a boisterous baby narrated "Tin Toy." To illustrate the baby´s facial expressions, programmers defined more than 40 facial muscles on the computer controlled by the animator.

Most expensive movie back then

Jan 1, 1992

“Terminator 2: Judgment Day” was the most expensive movie ever made at the time. Most of this cost was due to the expense of computer-generated special effects (such as image morphing)

Netscape Communications Corporation is founded, Yahoo is founded, The Iomega Zip Disk is released.

Jan 1, 1994

Netscape Communications Corporation is founded. Yahoo is founded. Founded by Stanford graduate students Jerry Yang and David Filo. The Iomega Zip Disk is released. The initial Zip system allowed 100MB to be stored on a cartridge roughly the size of a 3 ½ inch floppy disk.