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Jacquard Loom aka "The First Computer"
Joseph Marie Jacquard invents a loom that uses punched wooden cards to automatically weave fabric designs -
The Hollerith Electric Tabulating 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 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 First First Programming Language Is Born
Grace Hopper develops the first computer language, which eventually becomes known as COBOL. -
The Birth of UNIX
A group of developers at Bell Labs produce UNIX, an operating system that addressed compatibility issues. Written in the C programming language, UNIX was portable across multiple platforms and became the operating system of choice among mainframes at large companies and government entities. -
The Personal Computer Gains Traction
The first IBM personal computer, code-named “Acorn,” is introduced. It uses Microsoft’s MS-DOS operating system. It has an Intel chip, two floppy disks and an optional color monitor. Sears & Roebuck and Computerland sell the machines, marking the first time a computer is available through outside distributors. It also popularizes the term PC. -
Google Is Created
Sergey Brin and Larry Page develop the Google search engine at Stanford University. -
The iPhone is released
The iPhone brings many computer functions to the smartphone.
