Early 20th Century

1930 – Differential Analyzer was the first large-scale automatic general-purpose mechanical
analogue computer invented and built by Vannevar Bush.
1936 – Alan Turing had an idea for a universal machine, which he called the Turing machine, that
could compute anything that could be computed.
1939 – Hewlett-Packard was discovered in a garage in Palo Alto, California by Bill Hewlett and
David Packard.
1941 – Konrad Zuse, a German inventor and engineer, completed his Z3 machine, the world’s first
digital computer. However, the machine was destroyed during a World War II bombing strike on
Berlin.
1941 – J.V. Atanasoff and graduate student Clifford Berry devise a computer capable of solving 29
equations at the same time. The first time a computer can store data in its primary memory.
1945 – University of Pennsylvania academics John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert create an
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC). It was Turing-complete and capable of
solving “a vast class of numerical problems” by reprogramming, earning it the title of
“Grandfather of computers.”
1946 – The UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer) was the first general-purpose electronic
digital computer designed in the United States for corporate applications.
1949 – The Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC), developed by a team at the
University of Cambridge, is the “first practical stored-program computer.”
1950 – The Standards Eastern Automatic Computer (SEAC) was built in Washington, DC, and it
was the first stored-program computer completed in the United States.
Late 20th Century
1953 – Grace Hopper, a computer scientist, creates the first computer language, which becomes
known as COBOL, which stands for COmmon, Business-Oriented Language. It allowed a
computer user to offer the computer instructions in English-like words rather than numbers.
1954 – John Backus and a team of IBM programmers created the FORTRAN programming
language, an acronym for FORmula TRANslation. In addition, IBM developed the 650.
1958 – The integrated circuit, sometimes known as the computer chip, was created by Jack Kirby
and Robert Noyce.
1962 – Atlas, the computer, makes its appearance. It was the fastest computer in the world at the
time, and it pioneered the concept of “virtual memory.”
1964 – Douglas Engelbart proposes a modern computer prototype that combines a mouse and a
graphical user interface (GUI).
1969 – Bell Labs developers, led by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie, revealed UNIX, an
operating system developed in the C programming language that addressed program compatibility
difficulties.
1970 – The Intel 1103, the first Dynamic Access Memory (DRAM) chip, is unveiled by Intel.
1971 – The floppy disc was invented by Alan Shugart and a team of IBM engineers. In the same
year, Xerox developed the first laser printer, which not only produced billions of dollars but also
heralded the beginning of a new age in computer printing.
1973 – Robert Metcalfe, a member of Xerox’s research department, created Ethernet, which is used
to connect many computers and other gear.
1974 – Personal computers were introduced into the market. The first were the Altair Scelbi &
Mark-8, IBM 5100, and Radio Shack’s TRS-80.
1975 – Popular Electronics magazine touted the Altair 8800 as the world’s first minicomputer kit in
January. Paul Allen and Bill Gates offer to build software in the BASIC language for the Altair.
1976 – Apple Computers is founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who expose the world to the
Apple I, the first computer with a single-circuit board.
1977 – At the first West Coast Computer Faire, Jobs and Wozniak announce the Apple II. It has
colour graphics and a cassette drive for storing music.
1978 – The first computerized spreadsheet program, VisiCalc, is introduced.
1979 – WordStar, a word processing tool from MicroPro International, is released.
1981 – IBM unveils the Acorn, their first personal computer, which has an Intel CPU, two floppy
drives, and a colour display. The MS-DOS operating system from Microsoft is used by Acorn.
1983 – The CD-ROM, which could carry 550 megabytes of pre-recorded data, hit the market. This
year also saw the release of the Gavilan SC, the first portable computer with a flip-form design and
the first to be offered as a “laptop.”
1984 – Apple launched Macintosh during the Superbowl XVIII commercial. It was priced at $2,500
1985 – Microsoft introduces Windows, which enables multitasking via a graphical user interface. In
addition, the programming language C++ has been released.
1990 – Tim Berners-Lee, an English programmer and scientist, creates HyperText Markup
Language, widely known as HTML. He also coined the term “WorldWideWeb.” It includes the first
browser, a server, HTML, and URLs.
1993 – The Pentium CPU improves the usage of graphics and music on personal computers.
1995 – Microsoft’s Windows 95 operating system was released. A $300 million promotional
campaign was launched to get the news out. Sun Microsystems introduces Java 1.0, followed by
Netscape Communications’ JavaScript.
1996 – At Stanford University, Sergey Brin and Larry Page created the Google search engine.
1998 – Apple introduces the iMac, an all-in-one Macintosh desktop computer. These PCs cost
$1,300 and came with a 4GB hard drive, 32MB RAM, a CD-ROM, and a 15-inch monitor.
1999 – Wi-Fi, an abbreviation for “wireless fidelity,” is created, originally covering a range of up to
300 feet.
21st Century
2000 – The USB flash drive is first introduced in 2000. They were speedier and had more storage
space than other storage media options when used for data storage.
2001 – Apple releases Mac OS X, later renamed OS X and eventually simply macOS, as the
successor to its conventional Mac Operating System.
2003 – Customers could purchase AMD’s Athlon 64, the first 64-bit CPU for consumer computers.
2004 – Facebook began as a social networking website.
2005 – Google acquires Android, a mobile phone OS based on Linux.
2006 – Apple’s MacBook Pro was available. The Pro was the company’s first dual-core, Intel-based
mobile computer.
Amazon Web Services, including Amazon Elastic Cloud 2 (EC2) and Amazon Simple Storage
Service, were also launched (S3)
2007 – The first iPhone was produced by Apple, bringing many computer operations into the palm
of our hands. Amazon also released the Kindle, one of the first electronic reading systems, in 2007.
2009 – Microsoft released Windows 7.
2011 – Google introduces the Chromebook, which runs Google Chrome OS.
2014 – The University of Michigan Micro Mote (M3), the world’s smallest computer, was
constructed.
2015 – Apple introduces the Apple Watch. Windows 10 was also released by Microsoft.
2016 – The world’s first reprogrammable quantum computer is built.
Types of Computers
1. Analog Computers – Analog computers are built with various components such as gears
and levers, with no electrical components. One advantage of analogue computation is that
designing and building an analogue computer to tackle a specific problem can be quite
straightforward.
2. Digital Computers – Information in digital computers is represented in discrete form,
typically as sequences of 0s and 1s (binary digits, or bits). A digital computer is a system or
gadget that can process any type of information in a matter of seconds. Digital computers
are categorized into many different types. They are as follows:
a. Mainframe computers – It is a computer that is generally utilized by large
enterprises for mission-critical activities such as massive data processing.
Mainframe computers were distinguished by massive storage capacities, quick
components, and powerful computational capabilities. Because they were
complicated systems, they were managed by a team of systems programmers who
had sole access to the computer. These machines are now referred to as servers
rather than mainframes.
b. Supercomputers – The most powerful computers to date are commonly referred to
as supercomputers. Supercomputers are enormous systems that are purpose-built to
solve complicated scientific and industrial problems. Quantum mechanics, weather
forecasting, oil and gas exploration, molecular modelling, physical simulations,
aerodynamics, nuclear fusion research, and cryptoanalysis are all done on
supercomputers.
c. Minicomputers – A minicomputer is a type of computer that has many of the same
features and capabilities as a larger computer but is smaller in size. Minicomputers,
which were relatively small and affordable, were often employed in a single
department of an organization and were often dedicated to a specific task or shared
by a small group.
d. Microcomputers – A microcomputer is a small computer that is based on a
microprocessor integrated circuit, often known as a chip. A microcomputer is a
system that incorporates at a minimum a microprocessor, program memory, data
memory, and input-output system (I/O). A microcomputer is now commonly
referred to as a personal computer (PC).
e. Embedded processors – These are miniature computers that control electrical and
mechanical processes with basic microprocessors. Embedded processors are often
simple in design, have limited processing capability and I/O capabilities, and need
little power. Ordinary microprocessors and microcontrollers are the two primary
types of embedded processors. Embedded processors are employed in systems that
do not require the computing capability of traditional devices such as desktop
computers, laptop computers, or workstations.