Webster dictionary defines: computer: as any
programmable electronic device that can store, retrieve, and process data the
basic idea of computing develops in the 1200s when a Moslem caloric proposes
solving problems with a series of written procedures.
As early as the 1640s mechanical calculators are
manufactured for sale, records exist of earlier machines, but Blaise Pascal
invents the first commercial calculator of
hand powered adding machine. Although attempts to multiply mechanically
were made by Gottfried Liebnitz in the 1670s
the first rare multiplying calculator appears in Germany shortly before
the American
revolution
In 1801 a Frenchman Joseph Marie jacquard builds
a loom that weavers by reading punched holes store on small sheets of
hardwood. These plates are then inserted
into the loom, which read (retrieves) the pattern and creates (8process) the
weave powered by water. This: machine: came 140 years before the development of
the modern computer.
Shortly after the first mass produced calculator
(1820) Charles Babbage begins his
lifelong quest for a programmable machine. Although Babbage was a poor
communicator and record keeper his difference engine is sufficiently developed
by 1842 that Ada Lovelace used it to mechanically translate a short written
work. She is generally regarded as the first programmer. Twelve years later
George boles, while professor of mathematics at cork university writes an
investigation of the law of professor of mathematics at cork university writes an
investigation of the laws of thought
(1854) and is generally recognized as
the father of computer science
The 1890 census is tabulated on punch cards similar to
the ones used 90 years
earlier to create weaves developed by Herman Hollerith of MIT the system
uses electric power (non
mechanical) the Hollerith tabulating
company is a forerunner of today IBM
Just prior to the introduction of Holleriths machine
the first printing calculator is introduced in 1982 William brought sickly
ex-teller, introduces a commercially successful printing calculator. Although
hand powered Burroughs quickly
introduces an electronic model
In 1925,
unaware of the work of Charles Babbage, Vannevar bush of MIT builds a machine
he calls the differential analyzer . Using
a set of gears and shafts, much like Babbage, the machine can handle simple calculus problems,
but accuracy is a problem
The period from 1935 through 1952 gets murky with
camions and counterclaims of who invents
which and when part of the problem lies
in the international situation
that makes much of the researcher secret. Other problems include poor record keeping deception and lack of definition
In l 1935
Konarad Zuse a German
construction engineer , builds a mechanical calculator to handle the math
involved in his profession. Shortly after completion, Zues starts on a
programmable electronic device which he
completes in 1938.
John Vicente Atansasoff begins work on a digital
computer in 1936 in the basement of the physics building on the campus of lower
state. A graduate student, Clifford
(John) Bery assets. The ‘ABC’ is
designed to solve linear equations common in physics; it displays some early
features of later computers including electronic calculations. He shows
it to others in 1939 and leaves the patent application with
calculations. He shows it to others in 1939
and leaves the patent application with attorneys for the school when he
leaves for a job in Washington during World War II unimpressed, the school never files and
student. Cannibalizes ABC is cannibalized by student
The enigma a complex mechanical encoder is used by the
Germans and they believe it to be unbreakable several people involved most notably Alan Turing, conceive machines to
handle the problem but none are technically feasible. Turing proposes a
‘universal machine’ capable of ‘computing’ any algorithm in 1937 .
That same year George Stebitz created
his model k (kitchen), a conglomeration of other wise useless and
leftover material, to solve complex calculations. He improves the design while
working at bell labs and on September 11 1940 stabilize uses a teletype machine
at Dartmouth college in New Hampshire to transmit a problem to his complex number calculator in new York and
receives the results. It is the first example of a network.
First in Poland, and later in Great Britain and the
united states, the enigma code is broken information gained by this shortens the war . To beak the code, the British led by
touring , build the colossus mark I the
existence of this machine is a closely
guarded secret of the British government until
1970. the united states navy, aided to some extent by the British, builds a
machine capable of breaking not only the German code but the Japanese code as
well .
In l 1943 development begins on the electronic
numerical integrator and computer
(ENIAC) in earnest at Pen state . Designed by John Mauchly and J Presper
Eckert of the moore school, they get help from John Von Neumann and others.
In 1944 the Havard Mark I is introduced based on a series
of proposals from Howard Aiken in the late
1930s the mark i computes complex
table for the U.S navy,
it uses a paper tape to store
instructions and Aiken hires Grace
Hopper (‘amazing grace”) as one
of three programmers working on the machine Thomas J Watson sir plays a one of three programmers working on the machine Thomas j
Watson sir, plays a
pivotal roles involving his company
IBM in the machine development
Early in 1945
with the mark I stopped for repairs, hpper notices a moth in one of the relays,
possible causing the problem. From this
day on, hoper refers to fixing the system as “debugging” the same year von
Neumann proposes the concept fo a “stored program” in a paper that is never
officially published.
Work completes on ENIAC in 1946
although only three years only the machines woefully behind on technology but
the inventors opt to continue while working on A more modern machine the EDVAC
programming ENIAC requires it to be required. A later version eliminates this
problem. To make the machine appear more impressive to reporters during its
unvelling a team member (possibly Eckert) puts translucent spheres (halved ping
pong balls) over the lights. The US patent office will later recognize this as
the first computer
The next year scientists employed by bell labs
complete work on the transistor (John
Bardeen, Walter Brattain and Williams Shockely receive the Nobel Prize in
physics in 1956) and by 1948 teams around the world work on a “stored
program” machine, the first nicknamed
“baby” is a prototype of a much larger machine
under construction in Britain and is shown in June 1948
The impetus over the next 5 year for advances in
computers ins mostly the government and military UNIVAC delivered in 1951
to the census bureaus,
results in a tremendous financial loss
to it manufacturer, Remington Rand . The
next year grace hopper, now a employee of that company proposes “reusable
software: code segments that could be
extracted and assembled according to instructions in a “higher level language”
the concept of compelling is born.
Hopper would revise this concept over the next twenty years and her ideas would
become an integral part of all modern
computers. CBS uses one of the 46 UNIVAC computers produced to predict the costume of the 1952 presidential election. They do not air the
prediction for 32 hours because they do not trust the machine
IBM introduces the 701 the following year. It is the
first commercially successful computer, in 1956 Fortan in introduced (proposed 1954 , it takes nearly 3
years to develop the compiler ) two additional languages LISP and COBOL,
are added in 1957 and
1958 other early languages include ALGOL and BASIC. Although never widely used ALGOL is the basis for many of today’s
languages
With the
introduction of control data CDC 1604 in
1958, the first transistor powered computer, a new age dawns
brilliant scientist Seymour Cray heads the development team. This year integrated
circuits are introduced by two men, Jack Kilby and John Noyce, working
independently. The second network is developed at MIT . Over the next
three-year computers begin affecting the day-to-day lives of most Americans.
The addition of MICR characters at the
bottom of checks is common.
In 1961
Fairchild semiconductor introduces the integrated circuit, within in yeas all
computers use these instead of the transistor . Formally building sized computers are now room sized and are
considerably more powerful. The following year the Atlas becomes operational
displaying many of the features that make today systems so powerful including
virtual memory, pipeline instruction execution and paging designed at the
university of Manchester, some of the people who developed colossus thirty
years earlier make contributions.
On April 7 1964. IBM introduced the system /360 . While a technical marvel, the
main feature of this machine is
business oriented ..IBM guarantees the “upward compatibility” or the system reducing the risk that a business
would invest in outdated technology Dartmouth college where the first network
was demonstrated 25 years earlier, moves to the forefront of the “computer age”
with the introduction of TSS (time share system) a crude (by today’s standards)
networking system. It is the first wide area network. In three years randy
golden, president and founder of Golden Ink would begin working on this network
Within a year MIT returns to the top of the
intellectual computer community with the introduction of a greatly refined
network that features shared resources and uses
the first minicomputer (DEC’s
PDP-8) to manage telephone lines.
Bell Labs and GE play major roles in its design.
In 1989 Bell
Labs unhappy with the direction of the MIT project, leaves and develops its own
operating system UNIX one of the many precursors to today’s internet Arpanet, is quietly launched Alan
Keys , who will later become a designer for Apple proposes the personal computer .
Also in
1969 unhappy with Fairchild Semiconductor a group of technicians begin
discussing forming their own company.
This company, formed the next
year would be known as Intel. The movie colossus: the for Bain project has a supercomputer as
the villain. Next year the computer wore tennis shoes was the first feature
length movie with the word computer in
the title. In 1971 Texas instruments
introduced the first “pocket calculator:
it weighs 2.5 pounds
With l the country embroiled in a crisis of confidence
known as Watergate, in 1973 a little publicized judicial decision takes the
patent for the computer always from Mauchly and Eckert and awards it to
Atanasoff Xerox introduced the mouse
proposals are made for the first local area networks.
In 1975 the
first personal computer is marketed in kit form. The altar features 256 bytes
of memory bill gates with others
writers a basic compiler for the
machine the next year apple begins to market PCs a also in kit form. It
includes a monitor and keyboard. The earliest rise platforms become stable in
1976 queen Elizabeth goes on line with the first royal
email message
During the next few years the personal computer
explodes on the American scene. Microsoft apple and many smaller PC related
companies form (and some die) by 1977 stores begin to sell
PC’s while increasing capacity
entering the fray IBM introduces it’s PC
in 1981
(its actually IBM’S second
attempt , but the first
failed miserably ) time selects the
computer as its man of the year in 1982
Tron, a computer generated special effects extravaganza is released the same year.