The development of the modern day computer was the result of advances in technologies and man's need to quantify. Papyrus helped early man to record language and numbers. The abacus was one of the first counting machines. .
Some of the earlier mechanical counting machines lacked the technology to make the design work. For instance, some had parts made of wood prior to metal manipulation and manufacturing. Imagine the wear on wooden gears. This history of computers site includes the names of early pioneers of math and computing and links to related sites about the History of Computers, for further study. This site would be a good Web adjunct to accompany any book on the History of Computers or Introduction to Computers.
A list of The History of Computer :
Some of the earlier mechanical counting machines lacked the technology to make the design work. For instance, some had parts made of wood prior to metal manipulation and manufacturing. Imagine the wear on wooden gears. This history of computers site includes the names of early pioneers of math and computing and links to related sites about the History of Computers, for further study. This site would be a good Web adjunct to accompany any book on the History of Computers or Introduction to Computers.
A list of The History of Computer :
"Who invented the computer?" is not a question with a simple answer. The real answer is that many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention.
This series covers many of the major milestones in computer history (but not all of them) with a concentration on the history of personal home computers.
| Computer History Year/Enter | Computer History Inventors/Inventions | Computer History Description of Event |
| | Konrad Zuse - Z1 Computer | First freely programmable computer. |
| | John Atanasoff & Clifford Berry ABC Computer | Who was first in the computing biz is not always as easy as ABC. |
| | Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper Harvard Mark I Computer | The Harvard Mark 1 computer. |
| | John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly ENIAC 1 Computer | 20,000 vacuum tubes later... |
| | Frederic Williams & Tom Kilburn Manchester Baby Computer & The Williams Tube | Baby and the Williams Tube turn on the memories. |
| | John Bardeen, Walter Brattain & Wiliam Shockley The Transistor | No, a transistor is not a computer, but this invention greatly affected the history of computers. |
| | John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly UNIVAC Computer | First commercial computer & able to pick presidential winners. |
| | International Business Machines IBM 701 EDPM Computer | IBM enters into 'The History of Computers'. |
| | John Backus & IBM FORTRAN Computer Programming Language | The first successful high level programming language. |
| 1955 | Stanford Research Institute, Bank of America, and General Electric ERMA and MICR | The first bank industry computer - also MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) for reading checks. |
| | Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce The Integrated Circuit | Otherwise known as 'The Chip' |
| | Steve Russell & MIT Spacewar Computer Game | The first computer game invented. |
| | Douglas Engelbart Computer Mouse & Windows | Nicknamed the mouse because the tail came out the end. |
| | ARPAnet | The original Internet. |
| | Intel 1103 Computer Memory | The world's first available dynamic RAM chip. |
| | Faggin, Hoff & Mazor Intel 4004 Computer Microprocessor | The first microprocessor. |
| | Alan Shugart &IBM The "Floppy" Disk | Nicknamed the "Floppy" for its flexibility. |
| | Robert Metcalfe & Xerox The Ethernet Computer Networking | Networking. |
| | Scelbi & Mark-8 Altair & IBM 5100 Computers | The first consumer computers. |
| | Apple I, II & TRS-80 & Commodore Pet Computers | More first consumer computers. |
| | Dan Bricklin & Bob Frankston VisiCalc Spreadsheet Software | Any product that pays for itself in two weeks is a surefire winner. |
| | Seymour Rubenstein & Rob Barnaby WordStar Software | Word Processors. |
| | IBM The IBM PC - Home Computer | From an "Acorn" grows a personal computer revolution |
| | Microsoft MS-DOS Computer Operating System | From "Quick And Dirty" comes the operating system of the century. |
| | Apple Lisa Computer | The first home computer with a GUI, graphical user interface. |
| | Apple Macintosh Computer | The more affordable home computer with a GUI. |
| | Microsoft Windows | Microsoft begins the friendly war with Apple. |
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A typical computer operation back when computers were people.
Fig: old computer and its parts.
Historical Museum of computer: