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THE 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. -
INVENTION OF STEAM-DRIVEN CALCULATING MACHINE
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. -
THE INVENTION OF THE PUNCH CARD SYSTEM
Herman Hollerith designs a punch card system to calculate the 1880 census, accomplishing the task in just three years and saving the government $5 million. He establishes a company that would ultimately become IBM. -
THE INVENTION OF THE TURING MACHINE
Alan Turing presents the notion of a universal machine, later called the Turing machine, capable of computing anything that is computable. The central concept of the modern computer was based on his ideas. -
THE ATANASOFF-BERRY COMPUTER
Atanasoff and his graduate student, Clifford Berry, design a computer that can solve 29 equations simultaneously. This marks the first time a computer is able to store information on its main memory. -
THE INVENTION OF THE ENIAC
Two University of Pennsylvania professors, John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, build the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC). Considered the grandfather of digital computers, it fills a 20-foot by 40-foot room and has 18,000 vacuum tubes. -
INVENTION OF THE COBOL
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. -
INVENTION OF THE MODERN COMPUTERS
Douglas Engelbart shows a prototype of the modern computer, with a mouse and a graphical user interface (GUI). This marks the evolution of the computer from a specialized machine for scientists and mathematicians to technology that is more accessible to the general public. -
THE INVENTION OF APPLE 1
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak start Apple Computers on April Fool’s Day and roll out the Apple I, the first computer with a single-circuit board. -
THE INVENTION OF APPLE II
Jobs and Wozniak incorporate Apple and show the Apple II at the first West Coast Computer Faire. It offers color graphics and incorporates an audio cassette drive for storage. -
INVENTION OF THE Deskpro
Compaq brings the Deskpro 386 to market. Its 32-bit architecture provides as speed comparable to mainframes. -
WiFi BECOMES WIRELESS
The term Wi-Fi becomes part of the computing language and users begin connecting to the Internet without wires. -
INVENTION OF THE MACBOOK
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. -
INVENTION OF iPad
Apple unveils the iPad, changing the way consumers view media and jumpstarting the dormant tablet computer segment. -
THE INVENTION OF THE CHROMEBOOK
Google releases the Chromebook, a laptop that runs the Google Chrome OS.
