History of Computing

Abacus

100

(2600 BC) The abacus is a consequence to the expansion of commerce, when people started to need a an accurate recordkeeping.

First mechanical calculator

Jan 1, 1500

Leonardo Da Vinci, in 1500 invented a cog-wheeled device that has been interpreted as the first mechanical calculator.

Slide rule

Jan 1, 1621

Was invented by William Oughtred and it remained the mathematician's tool of choice until the electronic calculator took over.

Pascaline

Jan 1, 1642

Blaise Pascal invented pascaline, a mechanical adding machine, in 1642. It used a system of gears turned by hand to do addition and substraction

Improved Pascaline

Jan 1, 1670

Gottfried Leibniz improved Pascaline adding multiplication, division and square root capabilities.

Difference Engine project

Jan 25, 1822

Charles Baggage finds a way to perform calcuations for the Astronomical Society. He designs a prototype of the Difference Engine

Census Machines

Jan 25, 1890

In 1890 Dr Herman Hollerith in occasion of the census, developed a machine that compiled the census mechanically

Analytical Engine

Jan 25, 1930

Babbage in 1830 worked on the project of a new device called Analytical Engine, that was able to do sequential control, branching and looping