Computers have gone through
many stages before becoming what they are today. Some would say that
the process goes all the way back to the beginning of humankind, but we
will begin more recently. Hopefully this section will give you a
better idea of why computers are the way they are today. The topics are
found below, but feel free to start in our first, 1642 and advance through
to the end.
1642 - Blaise Pascal creates the
first numerical Calculating machine
1822 - Charles Babbage designs
the Difference Engine
1884 -Herman Hollerith receives
a patent for his automatic punch card tabulator
1926 - Dr. Julius Lilienfield filed
for a patent on a transistor being used as an amplifier
1939 - The first automatic digital
computer is designed
1944 - The first large scale automatic
computer, the Mark I, is completed
1946 - The ENIAC is created
1946 - EDVAC is designed
1954 - FORTRAN is created
1958 - The first integrated circuit
is created
1964 - BASIC is created
1970 - Integrated circuits become
widely used
1971- The world's first microprocessor
was created
1974 - The first truly general
purpose microprocessor is created
1975 - First Altair is sold
1981 - IBM launches its first PC
Since 1982 - Internet
Since 1982 - New Technology
Since 1982 - Companies
