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invention of the loom
In France, Joseph Marie Jacquard invents a loom that uses punched wooden cards to automatically weave fabric designs. Early computers would use similar punch cards. -
first computer built
English mathematician Charles Babbage conceives of a steam-driven calculating machine that would be able to compute tables of numbers. The project, funded by the English government, is a failure. More than a century later, however, the world’s first computer was actually built. -
computer without gears
J.V. Atanasoff, a professor of physics and mathematics at Iowa State University, attempts to build the first computer without gears, cams, belts or shafts. -
the first commercial computer
Mauchly and Presper leave the University of Pennsylvania and receive funding from the Census Bureau to build the UNIVAC, the first commercial computer for business and government applications. -
first computer language
Grace Hopper develops the first computer language, which eventually becomes known as COBOL. Thomas Johnson Watson Jr., son of IBM CEO Thomas Johnson Watson Sr., conceives the IBM 701 EDPM to help the United Nations keep tabs on Korea during the war. -
the fortran
The FORTRAN programming language is born. -
the first computer chip
Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce unveil the integrated circuit, known as the computer chip. -
computer with a mouseand GUI
Douglas Engelbart shows a prototype of the modern computer, with a mouse and a graphical user interface (GUI). -
the first DRAM
The newly formed Intel unveils the Intel 1103, the first Dynamic Access Memory (DRAM) chip. -
floppy disk
Alan Shugart leads a team of IBM engineers who invent the “floppy disk,” allowing data to be shared among computers. -
ethernet gets developed
Robert Metcalfe, a member of the research staff for Xerox, develops Ethernet for connecting multiple computers and other hardware. -
mobile computer
Apple introduces the MacBook Pro, its first Intel-based, dual-core mobile computer, as well as an Intel-based iMac. Nintendo’s Wii game console hits the market. -
the first IPhone
The iPhone brings many computer functions to the smartphone. -
IPad
Apple unveils the iPad, changing the way consumers view media and jump starting the dormant tablet computer segment. -
the apple watch
Apple releases the Apple Watch. Microsoft releases Windows 10.
