Timeline of Computer Science
Explore the milestones and innovations that shaped Computer Science and transformed the modern world
- Category
- Engineering & Technology
- Tag
- technology
- Events
- 54 events 1822–2020
- Added
1822: The Difference Engine
Charles Babbage designs the Difference Engine, a mechanical computer that is considered a precursor to modern computers.
Wikipedia1837: The Analytical Engine
Charles Babbage announces his plans to build the Analytical Engine, which is considered to be the first general-purpose mechanical computer.
Wikipedia1843: Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace writes the first computer algorithm, which is designed to be executed by Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine.
Wikipedia1890: Hollerith Tabulating Machine
Herman Hollerith invents the Hollerith Tabulating Machine, which is used to tabulate the 1890 US Census and is considered a precursor to modern computers.
Wikipedia1930: The Differential Analyzer
Vannevar Bush invents and builds the Differential Analyzer, which is one of the earliest examples of an analog computer and becomes a key development in the field of computational science.
Wikipedia1934: The World Brain
Paul Otlet creates the World Brain, which is a project to collect and organize all the world’s knowledge using a system of interconnected index cards. This project is considered to be a precursor to the development of the World Wide Web.
Wikipedia1936: Turing Machine
Alan Turing introduces the concept of a Turing Machine, a hypothetical machine that can simulate any algorithm and is considered the basis of modern computing.
Wikipedia1939: The Founding of HP
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard found Hewlett-Packard (HP), which becomes one of the world's largest technology companies and makes significant contributions to the development of personal computing and other fields.
Wikipedia1941: Z3
Konrad Zuse builds the Z3, the first working programmable computer and a precursor to modern computers.
Wikipedia1945: von Neumann Architecture
John von Neumann introduces the concept of stored program architecture, which allows instructions and data to be stored in the same memory and is the basis for modern computers.
Wikipedia1945: The ENIAC is Released
The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) is unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania, becoming the first general-purpose electronic digital computer and a major milestone in the development of modern computing.
Wikipedia1947: Transistor
The first transistor is invented by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley, leading to the development of smaller, more efficient computers.
Wikipedia1950: Turing Test
Alan Turing proposes the Turing Test as a measure of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human.
Wikipedia1951: Sale of the Ferranti Mark I
The Ferranti Mark I computer is sold to the University of Manchester, becoming the first commercially available computer and a key development in the early history of computing.
Wikipedia1951: Delivery of the First UNIVAC 1
The first UNIVAC 1 computer is delivered to the United States Census Bureau, becoming the first computer to be used for general-purpose data processing and a major milestone in the history of computing.
Wikipedia1954: FORTRAN
John Backus and his team at IBM develop FORTRAN, the first high-level programming language, which allows programmers to write code in a more natural language.
Wikipedia1956: Artificial Intelligence
John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester and Claude Shannon organize the Dartmouth Conference, which is widely considered to be the birth of artificial intelligence as a field of study.
Wikipedia1958: Integrated Circuit
Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce independently invent the integrated circuit, a miniaturized electronic circuit that allows for the creation of smaller, more powerful computers.
Wikipedia1958: SAGE System Goes Online
The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense system becomes operational, providing the first real-time computing capability to monitor and control the airspace of North America and representing a major milestone in the development of computer systems for military applications.
Wikipedia1960: COBOL Programming Language
COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language) is released, becoming one of the first high-level programming languages and the first to be designed for business applications. COBOL is still in use today, making it one of the longest-lasting programming languages in history.
Wikipedia1960: The TX-0 Computer
Researchers at MIT build the TX-0 computer, which incorporates the first known use of a cathode-ray tube for visual display and the first known use of a keyboard for direct input, representing a significant milestone in the development of interactive computing.
Wikipedia1964: Direct Keyboard Input to Computers
Ivan Sutherland develops Sketchpad, a computer program that allows users to create and manipulate graphical images directly with a light pen, thereby introducing the concept of direct keyboard input to computers.
Wikipedia1964: BASIC Programming Language
BASIC (Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is released by John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz at Dartmouth College, becoming one of the first high-level programming languages designed for beginners and a key driver of the personal computer revolution.
Wikipedia1965: Moore's Law
Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, observes that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles approximately every two years, which becomes known as Moore's Law and becomes a key driving force in the development of computer hardware.
Wikipedia1969: UNIX Operating System
Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs develop the UNIX operating system, which becomes a cornerstone of modern computing and a key influence on the development of the Internet.
Wikipedia1969: ARPANET
ARPANET, the precursor to the internet, is developed by the US Department of Defense.
Wikipedia1971: First microprocessor
Intel releases the 4004 microprocessor, the world's first commercially available microprocessor, which has 2,300 transistors and is capable of performing 60,000 operations per second.
Wikipedia1972: C Programming Language
Dennis Ritchie develops the C programming language at Bell Labs, which becomes one of the most widely used programming languages of all time.
Wikipedia1973: Ethernet
Robert Metcalfe, at Xerox PARC, develops Ethernet, the first local area network (LAN) technology, which uses a coaxial cable and can transmit data at up to 10 Mbps.
Wikipedia1976: Public Key Cryptography
Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman publish "New Directions in Cryptography," which introduces the concept of public key cryptography.
Wikipedia1977: RSA Cryptography
Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman develop the RSA cryptography algorithm, which becomes one of the most widely used encryption protocols in computer security.
Wikipedia1977: Apple II
Apple releases the Apple II, the first successful mass-produced microcomputer, which features color graphics and a built-in BASIC programming language interpreter.
Wikipedia1981: IBM PC
IBM releases the IBM PC, which becomes the standard for personal computers and is widely adopted by businesses and individuals.
Wikipedia1983: ARPANET to TCP/IP
ARPANET switches from the NCP protocol to TCP/IP, making it possible for the internet to become a global network.
Wikipedia1984: Macintosh
Apple releases the Macintosh, the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a graphical user interface (GUI) and a mouse.
Wikipedia1985: Windows
Microsoft releases Windows, a graphical operating system that becomes the dominant operating system for personal computers.
Wikipedia1989: World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web, making it possible to navigate the internet using hyperlinks and a web browser.
Wikipedia1991: Linux
Linus Torvalds releases the first version of Linux, a free and open-source operating system that becomes widely used.
Wikipedia1993: Mosaic
Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina, at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), develop Mosaic, the first popular graphical web browser, which can display images and text together.
Wikipedia1994: Web 1.0
The term "Web 1.0" is coined to describe the first generation of the World Wide Web, which is primarily static and read-only.
Wikipedia1995: JavaScript
Brendan Eich develops JavaScript, which becomes one of the most widely used programming languages in web development.
Wikipedia1997: Deep Blue
IBM's Deep Blue computer defeats Garry Kasparov, the reigning world chess champion, in a six-game match that is widely considered to be a milestone in the development of artificial intelligence.
Wikipedia1998: Google
Larry Page and Sergey Brin found Google, which becomes the dominant search engine on the internet.
Wikipedia2001: Wikipedia
Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, is launched and becomes one of the most widely used websites on the internet.
Wikipedia2002: Quantum Computing
Isaac Chuang and his team at MIT build the first quantum computer capable of factoring large numbers, which is a key application for cryptography.
Wikipedia2004: Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg and his team at Harvard University launch Facebook, which becomes the dominant social networking site on the internet.
Wikipedia2007: iPhone
Apple releases the iPhone, which revolutionizes the mobile phone industry and popularizes the use of touchscreens.
Wikipedia2008: Android
Google releases Android, an open-source operating system for mobile devices that becomes widely used.
Wikipedia2008: Bitcoin
Satoshi Nakamoto creates Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency, which becomes a key development in the field of blockchain technology.
Wikipedia2011: Siri
Apple introduces Siri, an intelligent personal assistant that uses voice recognition and natural language processing.
Wikipedia2012: Deep Learning
Geoffrey Hinton and his team at the University of Toronto develop a deep learning algorithm that achieves record-breaking results in a number of image recognition tasks.
Wikipedia2017: Transformer Networks
Google researchers introduce the Transformer network, which achieves state-of-the-art results in natural language processing tasks and becomes a key technology in the development of modern artificial intelligence.
Wikipedia2020: GPT-3
OpenAI introduces the Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3) language model, which achieves even more impressive results in natural language processing tasks and becomes one of the most powerful language models in the field of artificial intelligence.
Wikipedia