3000 BC - The Abacus is invented 200 AD - Saun-pan computing tray is invented in China. 1612 AD - John Napier invents logarithms and machines for multiplication. One machine used bones to aid division by subtraction and multiplication by addition. 1622 AD - The slide rule is invented by William Oughtred based on Napier's work with logarithms. This served as the calculator for engineers through the early 20th century. 1642 AD - Blaise Pascal creates the first adding machine with automatic carries from one position to the next. 1646 AD - First known English-language use of the word "computer," found in the writings of Sir Thomas Browne. Browne defines "computers" as persons who reckon the passage of time through the making up of calendars.  1673 AD - First mechanical calculator capable of multiplication invented by Gottfried Leibniz. 1801 AD - Joseph-Marie Jacquard invents a machine to automatically control the patterns in fabrics using punch cards. 1822 AD - Charles Babbage designs the first computer, the Difference Engine, for the purpose of computing navigation and celestial tables. 1833 AD - Charles Babbage invents the Analytical Machine, the first punch-card programmable general-purpose computer. 1842 AD - Lady Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace and daughter of Lord Byron, the poet, writes programs for Babbage's Analytical Machine. She is the world's first computer programmer.  1854 AD - George Boole publishes his Mathematical Analysis of Logic, inventing Boolean algebra. This becomes the basis for computer design. 1884 AD - Herman Hollerith patents an automatic punch-card tabulating machine. 1890 AD - Herman Hollerith construts a punch-card tabulating machine for use in calculating the US Census. 1896 AD - Herman Hollerith founds the Hollerith Tabulating Machine Co., later to become IBM. 1906 AD - Le DeForest builds the first vacuum tube. 1925 AD - Vannevar Bush builds the Differential Analyzer at MIT. This computer is capable of integration and differentiation. 1928 AD - Vladimir Zworykin invents the cathode ray tube (CRT).  Add your content here 1935 AD - Konrad Zuse builds the first relay computer (Z1), using binary arithmetic. 1936 AD - John Vincent Atanasoff invents the ABC to solve linear equations in physics. 1937 AD - George Stibitz builds the first binary calculator at Bell Labs. Alan Turing proposes a "Universal Machine" that can calculate anything. 1938 AD - Hewlett-Packard Company is founded. 1940 AD - George Stibitz builds the Complex Number Calculator (Bell Labs Model 1) that could possibly be the first digital computer. He also links the first computer network over telephone lines.  1941 AD - Colossus Mark I designed by Alan Turing to decrypt German communication codes is invented. The Harvard Mark I was developed by Howard Aiken for the US Navy to compute navigational tables.  1944 AD - Grace Murray Hooper programs the Mark I at Harvard.  1945 AD - John von Neumann describes the concept of "stored program". Grace Murray Hooper pulls a dead bug from a broken computer relay on the Mark II computer at Harvard University. She later glued the bug into a logbook of the computer. Continual cleaning of the relays is referred to as "debugging" the computer. The very first bug is still kept in the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution. 1946 AD - ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) is built at the University of Pennsylvania by John Brainerd, John Mauchly, and J. Presper Eckert. 1947 AD - Jay Forrester extends the life of a vacuum tube from 500 hours to 500,000 hours, improving the reliability of the vacuum-based computers of the era. 1950 AD - SEAC (Standards Eastern Automatic Computer) is developed for the National Bureau of Standards. UNIVAC I is built for the National Bureau of Standards, using magnetic tape as a memory buffer. IBM unveils the 701, the first electronically stored-program computer. Maurice Wilkes of Cambridge University uses symbolic assembly language to program the EDSAC. 1951 AD - The first commercial use of the transistor, invented by William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter H. Brattain is invented. An Wang founds the Wang Laboratories, Inc. 1954 AD - John Backus of IBM creates the FORTRAN computer language. Gene Amdahl programs the first operating system for the IBM 704. 1955 AD - Remington-Rand merges with Sperry Gyroscope to create the Sperry-Rand Company. 1958 AD - Seymour Cray builds the first completely transistorized supercomputer for the Control Data Corporation. ALBOL is introduced in Zurich. John McCarthy writes the LISP programming language for the IBM 704.  1959 AD - Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments patents the first integrated circuit. 1960 AD - PDP I, the first microcomputer is built by DEC. Grace Murray Hooper develops a series of programming languages using natural language-like phrases. The last one is called Flowmatic. COBAL, the first standardized business computer programming language is invented. Theodore Maiman invents the laser beam based on a design by Arthur Schawlow. 1964 AD - BASIC is written by Tom Kurtz and John Kemeny of Dartmouth. 1965 AD - IBM ships the first integrated circuit computer named the System 360. Richard Wexelblat becomes the first computer science doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania.  1967 AD - DEC introduces the PDP-10. 1969 AD - Xerox opens the Pal Alto Research Center (PARC). PASCAL compiler is written by Nicklaus Wirth for the CDC 6400.  1970 AD - Gilbert Hyatt files a patent for the first microprocessor. 1971 AD - Intel announces the first microprocessor, the 4004. John Blankenbaker builds the Kenbak I. This is the first personal computer. 1972 AD - Cray Research is founded. PL/1, the first programming language for the Intel 4004 is written by Gary Kidall.  1973 AD - PROLOG is developed by Alain Comerauer. 1974 AD - Digital Equipment is listed on the Fortune 500. Intel introduces the 8080. Intel is granted a patent for a "memory system for a multichip digital computer". 1975 AD - Microsoft is founded after Bill Gates and Paul Allen write a version of BASIC for the MITS Altair. The Homebrew Computer Club is considered the first personal computer users group. Cray I supercomputer is built. MITS introduces the Altair personal computer.  1977 AD - Apple Computer is founded, and introduces the Apple II personal computer. Floppy disks are introduced by IBM.  1979 AD - Compuserve online service is launched. VISICALC, the first spreadsheet application is introduced at the West Coast Computer Faire. IBM introduces the 3800 laser printer. 1982 AD - Sun Microsystems is founded. Compaq Computers is founded. Microsoft licenses MS-DOS to 50 computer manufacturers in its first 16 months.  1984 AD - Apple Macintosh is introduced. 1985 AD - Aldus Corporation introduces the desktop publishing revolution with its new software Pagemaker.   1987 AD - IBM introduces the PS/2 personal computer and ships over 1 million by years end.  1989 AD - Intel releases the 80486 microprocessor.  1990 AD - Motorola introduces the 68040 microprocessor. Microsoft introduces Windows 3.0.  1991 AD - Apple releases System 7.0 for Macintosh. 1993 AD - Motorola ships the PowerPC microprocessor. Intel introduces the Pentium processor. Microsoft launches Windows NT Workstation and Server.  1994 AD - Aldus and Adobe merge companies. Sun Microsystems introduces JAVA. The SCSI-2 standard is established. 1995 AD - Amazon.com launches bookstore on the Internet. Silicon Graphics develops the "Infinite Reality" graphics engine. Microsoft launches Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0. Integrating a new user desktop with advanced OS features. 1997 AD - Microsoft introduces Office 97 with interactive user-agent technology. Intel introduces the Pentium II processor.

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