In 1642 Blaise Pascal invented the Pascaline computer, a machine capable of performing addition and subtraction as well as multiplication and division (through repeated addition or subtraction). [1] The machine used a series of gears and wheels to represent numbers and performed calculations. [2]
Gottfried Leibniz invents the Leibniz Wheel, the first true four functioning calculator. [1]
Joseph-Marie Jacquard creates the Jacquard loom, a mechanical loom with punched cards that control the weaving patterns using punch cards.
In 1823 Charles Babbage invents the Difference Engine. In contrast to previous computational machines, the Difference Engine was able to solve polynomial equations in addition to the four basic functions of previous machines. [1]
Charles Babbage, fourteen years after inventing the Difference Engine creates the Analytical Engine, a machine that has a lot of similarities to modern-day computers with components that perform similar functions to a CPU (Mill), storage and a printer. [1]
In 1890 Herman Hollerith built the Tabulating Machine, an electromechanical machine that can record and sort data. [1]
Mark I (One) was a project that was sponsored by IBM and the US navy during the Second World War and built by Harvard University. It was used to perform vital calculations during the war and proved how useful computers can be for practical applications leading the way for more research and innovation in the emerging field of computer science.
Konrad Zuse (a German mathematician) develops a general-purpose mechanical computer
Jhon V. Atanasoff and his assistant Clifford Berry build a computer that encodes information electrically and can solve linear equations.
The Colossus was the first programmable electronic general-purpose computer, and it was developed during the Second World War to decrypt messages between Hitler and his Generals.
ENIAC was the first fully electronic general-purpose computer invented by Jhon Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert.
The first generation of modern computers is characterized by the existence of commercially available and affordable computers and marks the start of the journey that created the backbone of our digital revolution.
The second generation of modern computers is where vacuum tubes were replaced by transistors making them both smaller and cheaper to operate bringing to life the first high-level programming languages like FORTRAN and COBOL.
The third generation is characterized by the invention of the integrated circuit which reduced the cost of computers even further while increasing the overall computing power.
The fourth generation is marked by the appearance of personal desktop computers and the Windows 1.0 (1985) operating system. Personal desktop computers made it possible for ordinary people to get in touch with the digital world and then go on to create most of the major computer companies of today like Google or Apple.
The miniaturization of computers is the defining factor of the fifth generation. In this generation we saw the emergence of numerous peripherals and new technologies revolving around the computer. Additionally, the internet started to take form while exploding in popularity roughly at the same time as the appearance of the modern smartphone.
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