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Lexikon's History of Computing |
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* * * Who Was First in Computing? * * * Historical Firsts in Computing 1939 - 1981
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Lexikon's History of Computing |
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* * * Who Was First in Computing? * * * Historical Firsts in Computing 1939 - 1981
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Scroll Down for Complete Listings |
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Editor's Note: Although there is often some controversy over who built the first computer, depending on what definition of "computer" is used, this listing provides one perspective on key historical firsts in the field of computing. |
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1936-1938 - First programmable computer Developers: Konrad Zuse Approximate Development Period: 1936-1938 1939 - First remotely operational, electromagnetic relay calculator Name: Bell Labs Model 1 (Stibitz Complex Calculator) Developers: George Stibitz and Samuel B. Williams at Bell Labs Approximate Development Period: April 1939 to October 1939 1938-1941 - First fully functional, automatic, programmable, general purpose, digital computer Name: Z3 Machine (my vote for the first real computer, editor) Photo Developer: Dr. Konrad Zuse Approximate Development Period: 1938-1941 1940-1942 - First functioning prototype electronic digital computer Name: Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC computer) Photo Developers: John V. Atanasoff, Clifford Berry Approximate Development Period: 1939-1942 1943 - First programmable, electronic digital, code-breaking computer Name: Colossus Developers: Allied wartime efforts at Bletchley Park, England Approximate Development Period: 1939-1943 1944 - First large scale, automatic, electromechanical computer Photo Name: HARVARD MARK I (a.k.a. IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator - "ASCC") Developers: Howard H. Aiken and others Approximate Development Period: 1937-1944 1946 - First large scale, general purpose, electronic digital computer Name: ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) Photo Developers: John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert Approximate Development Period: 1943-1946 1947 - First functioning prototype Business Computer Name: Remington Rand (Model 2) Info Developer: Loring P. Crosman, Remington Rand Approximate Development Period: 1943-1947 1948 - First prototype, electronic stored-program computer Name: Manchester Mark I Developers: F. C. Williams, Tom Kilburn, and Max Neuman Royal Society Computing Machine Laboratory, Manchester University Approximate Development Period: 1946-1948 First stored program run June 21, 1948 1949 - First large scale, fully functional, stored-program, electronic digital computer to operate a regular computing service Name: EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Computer) Developer: Maurice Wilkes and others at University Mathematical Laboratory, Cambridge University, England Approximate Development Period: 1946-1949 First successful program run May 6, 1949 1949-1950 - First real-time processing computer Name: Whirlwind I Photo Developer: J. Forrester and others at MIT Approximate Development Period: 1946-1953 1951 - First commercially available computer Also first commercially available machine to use stored programs and a compiler. Name: UNIVAC I Photo Developers: John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert Approximate Development Period: 1948-1951 1952 - Considered by Some to be the First Stored Program Computer 1951 - First Business Computer established in an office environment Name: LEO-I (Lyons Electronic Office) Photo Developers: Lyons Approximate Development Period: 1947-1951 (and refinements through 1954) 1951 - Remington Rand Model 3 Name: Remington Rand Model 3 (precursor to the Rand 409) Photo Developers: Frank Hannon, Loring P. Crosman, and others at Remington Rand Aproximate Development Period: 1947-1951 Name: EDVAC "Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer" Photo Developers: John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert Approximate Development Period: 1951-1952 1953 - First Transistorized electronic digital computer Name: TX-0 Photo Developer: MIT Lincoln Labs Approximate Development Period: 1951-1953 1953 - First IBM electronic digital computer Name: IBM 701 (aka "Defense Calculator") Photo Developer: IBM Approximate Development Period: 1951-1953 1953 - World's first Supercomputer Name: IBM 704 Photo Developer: IBM Approximate Development Period: 1951-1953 1955-1956 - First successfully marketed toy digital computing device Name: Geniac Photo Developer: Edmund C. Berkeley Approximate Development Period: 1955-1956 1957 - First fully solid-state business computer Name: NCR 304 Photo Developer: NCR Corporation Approximate Development Period: 1955-1957 1957 - First commercial disk drive with moving read/write heads Name: IBM 305 RAMAC Photo Developer: IBM 1959 -1960 First successful and affordable minicomputer Name: PDP-1 Photo Developer: Digital Equipment Corporation Approximate Development Period: 1957-1959 1959: IBM's first mass-produced digital, all-transistorized, affordable business computer Name: IBM 1401 Photo Developer: IBM Approximate Development Period: 1958-1959 1960 - First standardized business computer programming language Name: COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) Developers: Conference on Data System Languages (CODASYL) Approximate Development Period: 1959-1960 1961 - First commercially available integrated circuit Developers: Fairchild Corporation Approximate Development Period: 1959-1961 1962 - First Personal Computer (specifically designed for biomedical technicians) Name: Linc (came with screen, keyboard, and monitor) Developers: Lincoln Labs (Wes Clark) Approximate Development Period: 1962 (2,000 were eventually made) 1962 - First Object Oriented Language, first non-procedural language, first interactive graphics display, first on-screen window Name: Sketchpad Developers: Ivan Sutherland 1963 - First reliable commercial use of VDTs for computer display Name: PDP-1 Photo Developer: Digital Equipment Corporation (Other earlier computers experimented with VDT use also, including CRT oscilloscope readouts.) 1963 - First "mouse" input device First integrated text-graphics display; First implementation of hypertext Links; First incorporation of hypertext, mouse, and videoconferencing technology Developer: Douglas Engelbart and Augmentation Research Center at SRI Approximate Development Period: 1962-1964 (and beyond) 1964 - First large scale, on-line, real-time reservation tracking system Name: SABRE* (Semi-Automatic Business Research Environment) Developer: IBM Approximate Development Period: 1962-1964 1967 - First desktop Personal Computer with Multiple Windowing Name: Flex Machine (Alan Kay worked with this machine) Developer: - 1969 - First multiple windows user interface; First large scale implementation of electronic mail Developers: Douglas Engelbart and Augmentation Research Center Approximate Development Period: 1969-1970 1971 - First commercially available microprocessor Name: Intel 4004 Developer: Intel Corporation Developed for Busicom Company 1971 - First regular use of 8 inch floppy (magnetic storage) diskettes Developer: Alan Shugart at IBM 1972 - First digital microcomputer available to general public for personal use Name: MITS 816 Developers: MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) Approximate Development Period: 1972 1972 - First digital microcomputer series produced Name: Intellec Developers: Intel Corporation Approximate Development Period: 1972 (production stopped in about 1976) (apparently not a general purpose microcomputer, but specific in nature) 1973 - First fully functional personal computer complete with monitor designed for office work, research, and eventually linked together in an (ethernet) network configuration. Name: Alto -- Photo Developer: Xerox PARC Approximate Development Period: 1970-1973 (Not widely marketed to general public, very expensive. Xerox chose not to pursue large scale production.) 1974 - First formally advertised (in a popular magazine) personal computer Name: Scelbi ("Scientific, ELectronic, and BIological") Developer: Scelbi Computer Consulting, Milford, Connecticut Date of advertisement: March 1974, "QST" magazine 1974 - First widely marketed personal computer kit for general public Name: Mark-8 Developer: Jonathan Titus Approximate Development Period: 1973-1974 1974-1975 - First mass produced and marketed personal computer (both kit and assembled) Name: Altair 8800 -- Photo Developers: Edward Roberts, William Yates and Jim Bybee Approximate Development Period: 1973-1974 1975 - First "IBM personal computer" Name: IBM 5100 -- Photo Developer: IBM Approximate Development Period: 1973-1975 (Sales and marketing of this unit were unsuccessful) 1976 - First Apple 1 Computer Debuts at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California. Sells in kit form, circuit board only. Name: Apple I Photo Developer: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak Approximate Development Period: 1974-1976 1977 - First highly successful personal computer marketed, also probably the first personal computer to have color graphics Name: Apple II Developer: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak Approximate Development Period: 1975-1977 1981 - First successfully marketed IBM personal computer Name: IBM PC Photo Developer: IBM Approximate Development Period: 1978-1981 1981 - First fully self-contained and integrated Portable PC Developer: Adam Osborne, Osborne Computer Corporation Approximate Development Period: 1980-1981 |
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Copyright © 1982-2002, Lexikon Services "History of Computing" ISBN 0-944601-78-2
