Nathan Fox Computer History Timeline

By 10564
  • Period: 2700 BCE to 2300 BCE

    Abacus

    The Abacus is an ancient tool that's sole purpose was to count large numbers. This invention was proven to be invented around 2700-2300 B.C.E. The exact origin of the Abacus is still unknown today but it was invented by Tim Cranmer.
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  • Napiers Bones

    Napiers Bones
    Napier’s bones were invented by John Napier. Napier’s bones were used for the Calculation of products and quotients of the number. This method otherwise known as Lattice Multiplication was invented in Merchiston Scotland.
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  • Slide Rule

    Slide Rule
    Up until July 11, 1976 Slide Rules were manufactured in the United States since 1632. This was invented by Wiliam Oughtred. This was originally produced by inscribing logarithms on wood or ivory. The slide rule was used for mathematical and engineering calculations.
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  • Pascaline

    Pascaline
  • Period: to

    Pascaline

    This method is otherwise known as the Arithmetic Machine. This was the first adding and calculating machine. This machine was built by a French Philosopher named Blaise Pascal in 1642-1644.
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  • Stepped Reckoner

    Stepped Reckoner
    The Stepped Reckoner expanded the French Philosopher, Blaise Pascal’s, invention. This machine did multiplication by repeated addition and shifting. The German mathematician-philosopher, Gottfried Leibniz aided Blaise Pascal’s invention in 1673.
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  • Difference and Analytical Engines.

    Difference and Analytical Engines.
  • Period: to

    Difference and analytical engine.

    The Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine (Otherwise known as the engines) were developed by Charles Babbage. These machines were developed between Charles’s life span (1791-1871) Both of these engines are decimal digit machines.
  • Jacquard Loom

    Jacquard Loom
    The Jacquard Loom was invented by Joseph-Marie Jacquard. Joseph-Marie Jacquard patterned the Jacquard Loom in 1804. This machine was used to manufacture complex textiles and patterns.
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  • Arithmometer

    Arithmometer
    The Arithmometer was an early machine built by Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar of France in 1820. This machine was used as a calculator using Leibniz’s technology. This was the very first mass-produced commercialized calculating device.
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  • Augusta Ada Byron

    Augusta Ada Byron
    Augusta Ada Byron, otherwise known as Ada Lovelace, assisted in the creation of Babbage’s Engine/s. Augusta met Babbage at a party in 1833. Babbage showed her a small piece of his working engines. Then, she incorporated her mathematical skills to add to Babbage’s creation.
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  • Scheutzian Calculation Engine

    Scheutzian Calculation Engine
    The Scheuztian Calculation Engine was invented by Per Georg Scheutz in 1843. This device was used to rapidly produce the answers to multiplication, division, and exponentiation and produce these answers in a logarithmic table. After his invention, the government began to fund Per Georg Scheutz for his future inventions and improved models.
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  • Tabulating machine

    Tabulating machine
    The Tabulating machine was used for the US consensus once it began to take too long. It was extremely helpful for counting people around the world faster. This was invented by Herman Hollerith for the 1890 consensus. This machine stored information on punch cards.
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  • Z1

    Z1
    Z1 is a motor-driven mechanical computer calculator with limited programmability. This was invented in 1938 by Konrad Zuse. This computer was then destroyed in the bombardment of Berlin in December 1943.
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  • ENIAC

    ENIAC
  • Period: to

    ENIAC

    ENIAC was invented by a physicist named John Mauchly. This invention was built between 1943-1945. This was the first large-scale computer to run at electronic speed without being slowed by mechanical parts.
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  • Harvard Mark I

    Harvard Mark I
    Havard Mark 1 was invented by Howard Aiken in 1944. Howard Aiken was a professor at Harvard University. His machine worked by having four machines calculate a mathematical equation such as addition, subtraction, etc; the problem.
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  • The Transistor

    The Transistor
    The transistor was invented by Bell Laboratories in 1947 and was led by William Shockley and others. This machine rapidly replaced the bulky vacuum tube as an electronic signal regulator(it switches the electrical current in a circuit). The transistor is thought to be one of the most significant inventions or technological advancements in making smaller electronics.
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  • UNIVAC

    UNIVAC
    UNIVAC (or Universal Automatic Computer) was built by John Mauchly (Also created ENIAC). This computer was built in March 1951 and was last produced in 1986. This computer was a line of electronic digital stored-program computers.
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  • EDVAC

    EDVAC
    The EDVAC was a successor to the UNIVAC and ENIAC. This machine was created by John Von Neumann in 1952. This machine was different from ENIAC; it had one storage device that would hold data and instructions. The machine's function was to perform arithmetic operations in an arithmetic unit.
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  • FORTRAN

    FORTRAN
    FORTRAN was invented by IBM (Led by John Backus) 65 years ago in 1957. This is a coding language mainly used for scientific and engineering functions quickly. FORTRAN is still used in high-end programs today despite being 65 years old. It fills the needs of computational science.
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  • Computer Chip

    Computer Chip
    In 1959, Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce invented and implemented the world's first miniaturized circuits. This would later be known as the microchip due to its extreme tightness yet still being effective. Although Robert Noyce didn’t help Jack Kilby’s invention, Jack Kilby shares credit with Robert Noyce because Robert invented his own microchip a few months after Jack Kilby.
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  • COBOL

    COBOL
    The COBOL (Common business-oriented language) was designed by Grace Hopper and a few colleges in 1959. The COBOL’s function was used in business, finance, and administrative systems as a language machine. COBOL would create a portable programming language for data processing.
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  • The mouse

    The mouse
    The mouse was reportedly conceived by Douglas Engelbart during a conference lecture in 1961. His first design was produced in 1963 using rolling wheels. This idea was inspired by planimeters(mechanical area measuring devices) invented in the 1800s. The mouse would allow you to select different locations of the screen on your monitor.
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  • Floppy disk

    Floppy disk
    The floppy disk is a flexible storage device in the shape of a disk. The floppy disk was invented by IBM but the idea was led by Alan Shugart in 1971. This is roughly 8 inches and was flexible and magnetic. People would use it to store data. The average floppy disk held about 5-10 kb of storage.
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  • Ethernet

    Ethernet
    In 1973, Rober Metcalfe invented Ethernet at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. His first version of the Ethernet (10BASE5) was an extremely stiff cable about half an inch thick. His next updated model was the 10BASE2 which was half as thick and way more flexible. The Ethernet was used for improved connections and helped the early computers run smoother.
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  • Radio Shack's TRS-80

    Radio Shack's TRS-80
    The TRS-80 (Otherwise known as Model I) was invented in 1977 by Tandy Corporation. Radio Shack’s TRS-80 got its name from being sold in a radio shack. This machine was a microchip computer and was one of the first commercialized mass-produced home computers.
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  • Apple II

    Apple II
    The Apple II was one of the world's first extremely successful microcomputers. This computer was invented in 1977 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. This computer was built with a foam molded plastic case and a 9-inch monitor.
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  • IBM acorn

    IBM acorn
    Project chess(IBM acorn) had the code name, Acorn. A group of twelve engineers worked to create the IBM Acorn on August 12 1981. This group was led by William C. Lowe in Boca Raton, Florida. Once released, they changed the name to IBM PC, inventing the term we use today as PC(Personal Computer).
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  • Microsoft Windows

    Microsoft Windows
    On November 20, 1985, Microsoft released Windows. This revolutionary invention would change computers as we know them up until today. In 2014 Microsoft admitted to losing popularity but the company still has many users across the world. Windows is an operating system to improve the graphics and quality of computers.
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  • Mac OS X

    Mac OS X
    In March 2001 Mac OS X was released by Apple. This release gave the computer a new branded look by it being a bright, bold aqua color. This model had translucent shadows and gave mac the visual update it so desperately needed. This computer helped prove that computers weren’t exclusively for businessmen and “nerds”.
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  • iPhone

    iPhone
    The first generation of iPhones was released on January 9th, 2007. This invention was done by apple led by Steve Jobs. By November 2018, more than 2.2 billion iPhones had been sold throughout the globe. The iPhone is a multi-touch screen with almost all the skills of a computer. This runs on a microchip and many components. Although computers can be faster, Iphones are extremely accessible no matter where you are.
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  • Chromebook

    Chromebook
    On June 15, 2011, the first Chromebook was shipped. The Chromebooks were invented by google and were one of the first extremely mobile computers. The Chromebook resembles a laptop running the Linux-based ChromeOS. The Chromebook was initially designed to mainly support the web but has been revolutionized for games and other applications.
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  • Molecular Informatics

    Molecular Informatics
    Molecular Informatics is a new technology that began to be experimented on in 2017 by DARPA. Molecular informatics is a new form of storage units, data retrievers, and data processors. Molecular Informatics aims to investigate and experiment with a wide range of structural characteristics and properties of molecules to encrypt data.
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