| 2400 BC | Abacus: the first known calculator, the abacus, was invented in Babyloni |
| 500 BC | Panini: the Indian Mathematician introduces the forerunner to modern formal language theory |
| 300 BC | Pingala: invents the binary number system |
| 87 BC | Antikythera Mechanism: Built in Rhodes to track movement of the stars |
| 60 AD | Heron of Alexandria: invents machines which are able to follow a series of instructions |
| 724 | Liang Ling-Can: invents the first fully mechanical clock |
| 1492 | Leonardo da Vinci: Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci depict inventions such as flying machines, including a helicopter, the first mechanical calculator and one of the first programmable robots |
| 1613 | The word “computer” was first recorded as being used in 1613 and was originally used to describe a person who performed calculations or computations. The definition of a computer remained the same until the end of the 19th century when it began referring to a machine that performed calculations. |
| 1614 | John Napier: invents a system of moveable rods (Napier’s Rods) based on logarithms which were able to multiply, divide and calculate square and cube roots |
| 1622 | William Oughtred: develops the slide rule (it was circular in shape) |
| 1623 | Calculating Clock: is invented by Wilhelm Schickard |
| 1642 | Blaise Pascal: invents the the “Pascaline”, a mechanical adding machine |
| 1671 | Gottfried Leibniz: becomes known as one of the founding fathers of calculus |
| 1714 | The first writing device (similar to a typewriter) to be patented is patented by Henry Mill in London England. |
| 1801 | Joseph-Marie Jacquard: invents an automatic loom controlled by punched cards |
| 1820 | Arithmometer: The Arithmometer was the first mass-produced calculator invented by Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar |
| 1822 | Charles Babbage: designs his first mechanical computer |
| 1823 | Baron Jons Jackob Berzelius discovers silicon (Si), which today is the basic component of an integrated circuit (IC). |
| 1834 | Analytical Engine: The Analytical Engine was invented by Charles Babbage |
| 1835 | Morse code: is invented by Samuel Morse |
| 1848 | Boolean algebra: is devised by George Boole |
| 1869 | William Stanley Jevons: designs a practical logic machine |
| 1878 | Ramon Verea: invents a fast calculator with an internal multiplication table |
| 1878 | The first keyboard to have a Shift key is introduced on the Remington No. 2 typewriter introduced in 1878 that had one Shift key on the left side of the keyboard. |
| 1880 | Alexander Graham Bell: invents the telephone called the Photophone |
| 1884 | Comptometer: The Comptometer which is operated by pressing keys is developed by Dorr E. Felt |
| 1890 | Herman Hollerith: invents a counting machine which has increment mechanical counters |
| 1895 | Guglielmo Marconi: develops radio signals |
| 1896 | Tabulating Machine Company: is formed by Herman Hollerith which later becomes IBMHerman Hollerith starts the Tabulating Machine Company, the company later becomes the well-known computer company IBM (International Business Machines). |
| 1898 | Nikola Tesla: invents the remote control |
| 1902 | The French silent film “A Trip to the Moon” is first released and is considered to be the first science fiction film. |
| 1906 | Lee De Forest: devises the first electronic tube |
| 1911 | IBM: IBM is formed on June 15, 1911 |
| 1912 | G. N. Lewis begins work on the lithium battery. |
| 1915 | The first telephone call is made across the continent. |
| 1921 | Czech playwright Karel Capek coins the term “robot” in the 1921 play RUR (Rossum’s Universal Robots). |
| 1923 | Philo Farnsworth: devises the first fully electronic television |
| 1924 | John Logie Baird: invents the Electro Mechanical television system Walther Bothe: develops the logic gate |
| 1927 | Philo Taylor Farnsworth becomes the first person to successfully transmit a TV signal on September 7, 1927. |
| 1928 | The Galvin Manufacturing corporation begins on September 25, 1928, the company will later be known as Motorola. |
| 1930 | Vannevar Bush: develops a partly electronic Difference Engine (the precursor to the digital computer) |
| 1931 | Kurt Godel: publishes a paper on the use of a universal formal language |
| 1936 | While working on a radio, Paul Eisler invents the Printed Circuit Board (PCB).Dvorak receives a patent for the Dvorak keyboard May 12, 1936. |
| 1937 | Alan Turing: develops the concept of a theoretical computing machine |
| 1938 | Konrad Zuse: creates the Z1 Computer a binary digital computer using punch tape |
| 1939 | George Stibitz: develops the Complex Number Calculator – a foundation for digital computers Hewlett Packard: William Hewlett and David Packard start their computer companyJohn Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry: develop the ABC (Atanasoft-Berry Computer) prototype |
| 1943 | Enigma: Adolf Hitler uses the Enigma encryption machine Colossus: Alan Turing develops the code-breaking machine Colossus |
| 1944 | Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper: design the MARK series of computers at Harvard University |
| 1945 | ENIAC: John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly develop the ENIAC ( Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) Computer Bug: the term computer ‘bug’ is first used by Grace Hopper |
| 1946 | F.C. Williams: develops his cathode-ray tube (CRT) storing device, the forerunner to random-access memory (RAM) |
| 1947 | Pilot ACE: Donald Watts Davies joins Alan Turing to build the fastest digital computer in England at the time, the Pilot ACE William Shockley: invents the transistor at Bell Labs Douglas Engelbart: theorises on interactive computing with keyboard and screen display instead of on punchcards |
| 1948 | Andrew Donald Booth: invents magnetic drum memory Frederic Calland Williams & Tom Kilburn: develop the SSEM “Small Scale Experimental Machine” digital CRT storage which was soon nicknamed the “Baby” |
| 1949 | Claude Shannon: builds the first machine that plays chess Howard Aiken: develops the Harvard-MARK III |
| 1950 | Hideo Yamachito: creates the first electronic computer in JapanAlan Turing: publishes his paper – Computing Machinery and Intelligence which helps create the Turing Test |
| 1951 | LEO: T. Raymond Thompson and John Simmons develop the first business computer, the Lyons Electronic Office (LEO) at Lyons Co.UNIVAC: UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer I) is introduced – the first commercial computer made in the United States and designed principally by John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly EDVAC: The EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) begins performing basic tasks. Unlike the ENIAC, it was binary rather than decimal |
| 1953 | The IBM 701 becomes available and a total of 19 are sold to the scientific community |
| 1954 | John Backus & IBM: develop the FORTRAN Computer Programming Language |
| 1955 | Bell Labs: introduces its first transistor computer |
| 1956 | Optical fibre is invented by Basil Hirschowitz, C. Wilbur Peters, and Lawrence E. Curtiss |
| 1957 | Sputnik I and Sputnik II: are launched by the Russians |
| 1958 | ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) and NASA is formed Silicon chip: the first integrated circuit, or silicon chip, is produced by Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce |
| 1959 | Paul Baran: theorises on the “survivability of communication systems under nuclear attack”, digital technology and symbiosis between humans and machines |
| 1960 | COBOL: the Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL) programming language is invented |
| 1961 | Unimate: General Motors puts the first industrial robot, Unimate, to work in a New Jersey factory |
| 1962 | The first computer game: the Spacewar Computer Game is created invented by Steve Russell & MIT |
| 1963 | The Computer Mouse: Douglas Engelbart invents and patents the first computer mouse (nicknamed the mouse because the tail came out the end)The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) is developed to standardize data exchange among computers |
| 1964 | Word processor: IBM introduces the first word processor BASIC: John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz develop Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Language (BASIC) |
| 1965 | Hypertext: Andries van Dam and Ted Nelson coin the term “hypertext” |
| 1967 | Floppy Disk: IBM creates the first floppy disk
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| 1969 | Seymour Cray: develops the CDC 7600, the first supercomputer Gary Starkweather: invents the laser printer whilst working with Xerox ARPANET: The U.S. Department of Defence sets up the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) with the intention of creating a computer network that can withstand any type of disaster. It becomes the first building block for what the internet is has become today |
| 1970 | RAM: Intel introduces the world’s first available dynamic RAM ( random-access memory) chip and the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004 |
| 1971 | E-mail: is invented by Ray Tomlinson Liquid Crystal Display ( LCD ):is developed by James Fergason Pocket calculator: is invented by Sharp Corporation Floppy Disk: is created by David Noble with IBM – Nicknamed the “Floppy” for its flexibility. |
| 1972 | First Video Game: Atari releases Pong, the first commercial video game The CD: the compact disc is invented in the United States. |
| 1973 | Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs: creates the Ethernet, a local-area network (LAN) protocolPersonal computer: The minicomputer Xerox Alto (1973) was a landmark step in the development of personal computers
Gateways: Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn develop gateway routing computers to negotiate between the various national networks |
| 1974 | SQL: IBM develops SEQUEL (Structured English Query Language ) now known as SQL WYSIWYG: Charles Simonyi coins the term WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) to describe the ability of being able to display a file or document exactly how it is going to be printed or viewed |
| 1975 | Portable computers: The Altair 8800 is developed by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) and the first personal home computer is released on 23 Jan, 1975 Microsoft Corporation: is founded April 4, 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800 |
| 1976 | Apple: Apple Computers is founded by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs on 1 Apr 1976 (April Fools Day) |
| 1977 | Apple Computer’s Apple II, the first personal computer with colour graphics, is demonstrated MODEM: Ward Christensen writes the programme “MODEM” allowing two microcomputers to exchange files with each other over a phone line |
| 1978 | Magnetic tape: The first magnetic tape is developed in the US |
| 1979 | Over half a million computers are in use in the United States |
| 1980 | Paul Allen and Bill Gates: IBM hires Paul Allen and Bill Gates to create an operating system for a new PC. They buy the rights to a simple operating system manufactured by Seattle Computer Products and use it as a template to develop DOS |
| 1981 | Microsoft: MS-DOS Computer Operating System increases its success |
| 1982 | WordPerfect: the WordPerfect Corporation introduces WordPerfect 1.0 a word processing program Commodore 64: becomes the best-selling computer of all time. SMTP: SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is introduced for the first time |
| 1983 | More than 10 million computers are in use in the United States Domain Name System (DNS): is pioneered by Jon Postel, Paul Mockapetris and Craig Partridge. Seven ‘top-level’ domain names are initially introduced: edu, com, gov, mil, net, org and int. Microsoft Windows: is introduced eliminating the need for a user to have to type each command, like MS-DOS, by using a mouse to navigate through drop-down menus, tabs and icons |
| 1984 | Apple Macintosh: Apple introduces the Macintosh with mouse and window interface on 24 Jan, 1984 Cyberspace: William Gibson coins the word cyberspace when he publishes Neuromancer Dell Computer is founded in Austin Texas on 3 May, 1984 |
| 1985 | Paul Brainard introduces Pagemaker for the Macintosh creating the desktop publishing fieldNintendo: The Nintendo Entertainment System makes its debut.
Microsoft Windows 1.0 is introduced on 19 Nov, 1985 and is initially sold for $100.00
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| 1986 | More than 30 million computers are in use in the United States. |
| 1987 | Microsoft introduces Microsoft WorksPerl: Larry Wall introduces Perl 1.0 |
| 1988 | Over 45 million PCs are in use in the United States. |
| 1990 | The Internet, World Wide Web & Tim Berners-Lee: Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau propose a ‘hypertext’ system starting the modern Internet Microsoft and IBM stop working together to develop operating systems The World: the first commercial Internet dial-up access provider comes online on 20 Sep, 1990 |
| 1991 | The World Wide Web is launched to the public on August 6, 1991“I think internet was more important than personal computers although you need personal computer to use the internet, STEVE WOZNIAK “ |
| 1993 | At the beginning of the year only 50 World Wide Web servers are known to exist
Microsoft releases Windows 3.0 on 20 Sep, 1990 |
| 1994 | The World Wide Web Consortium is founded by Tim Berners-Lee to help with the development of common protocols for the evolution of the World Wide Web YAHOO is created in April, 1994.
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| 1995 | Java is introduced Amazon: Amazon.com is founded by Jeff Bezos on 20 Sep, 1995 EBay is founded by Pierre Omidyar on 20 Sep,1995 Hotmail is started by Jack Smith and Sabeer Bhatia on 20 Sep, 1995 |
| 1996 | WebTV: is introduced for the first time
The DVD Video format is first introduced by Toshiba in Japan in November, 1996 |
| 1997 | Altavista introduces its free online translator Babel FishMicrosoft acquires Hotmail |
| 1998 | Google: Google is founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page on September 7, 1998PayPal is founded by Peter Thiel and Max Levchin
Apple Power Book G3 is released on 20 Sep, 1998 |
| 2001 | Xbox: Bill Gates introduces the Xbox on 7 Jan, 2001
Windows XP: is launched on 20 Sep, 2001 |
| 2002 | Approximately 1 billion PCs have been sold
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| 2003 | iTunes is launched on 9 Jan, 2003
Skype is launched on 20 Aug, 2003
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| 2004 | Facebook is first launched on 20 Sep, 2004Firefox 1.0 is released on 9 Nov, 2004
Blizzard‘s World of Warcraft game, the most popular and successful MMORPG is released 23 Nov, 2004 |
| 2005 | The blu-ray is first announced and introduced on 4 Jan, 2006.YouTube begins on 14 Feb, 2005
Xbox360 is released on 20 Feb, 2005 eBay acquires Skype on September 12, 2005 |
| 2006 | iPhone: the first iPhone is released on 29 Jun, 2006SCE releases Play Station 3 on 11 Nov, 2006
Nintendo releases Wii on 19 Nov, 2006 |
| 2007 | Windows Vista is released 30 Jan, 2007Netbook: Asus released first Eee PC (netbook) on 16 Oct, 2007 |
| 2008 | First Android OS and Android Smartphone is released on 21 Oct, 2008 |
| 2009 | Windows 7 is released on 22 Oct, 2009 |
| 2010 | The iPad is released on 3 Apr, 2010 |
| 2011 | Microsoft exceeds $1 billion in sales and becomes the first company to do so |
| 2012 | Apple introduces the iPhone 5Microsoft Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface is released October 26, 2012Apple introduces the iPad mini October 23, 2012 The number of smart phones worldwide reaches 1 billion |
| 2013 | Apple introduces iOS7 on September 18, 2013Microsoft releases Windows 8.1 on October 18, 2013
Sony releases the PS4 November 15, 2013 Apple outsells Windows PCs globally for the first time |
| 2014 | The Nokia deal with Microsoft is completed April 25 making Nokia now Microsoft Mobile in a deal totalling $7.17 billionApple introduces the new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and Apple Watch on September 9
Microsoft announces on September 30 the next version of Windows, which will be called Windows 10 Android version 5.0 (Lollipop) released November 3 |
| 2015 | Apple officially releases the Apple Watch on April 24Microsoft releases Windows 10 on July 29
Android version 6.0 (Marshmallow) released October 5 Microsoft releases the Surface Book on October 26 |
| 2016 | Pokémon GO is released July 6,for Android phones and iPhoneGoogle releases Android version 7.0 (Nougat) August 22
On September 16, Apple announces the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus |
