"Who invented the computer?" is not a question with a simple answer. The real answer is that many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention.
This series covers many of the major milestones in computer history (but not all of them) with a concentration on the history of personal home computers.
Computer History Year/Enter | Computer History Inventors/Inventions | Computer History Description of Event |
Konrad Zuse - Z1 Computer | First freely programmable computer. | |
John Atanasoff & Clifford Berry ABC Computer | Who was first in the computing biz is not always as easy as ABC. | |
Howard Aiken & Grace Hopper Harvard Mark I Computer | The Harvard Mark 1 computer. | |
John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly ENIAC 1 Computer | 20,000 vacuum tubes later... | |
Frederic Williams & Tom Kilburn Manchester Baby Computer & The Williams Tube | Baby and the Williams Tube turn on the memories. | |
John Bardeen, Walter Brattain & Wiliam Shockley The Transistor | No, a transistor is not a computer, but this invention greatly affected the history of computers. | |
John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly UNIVAC Computer | First commercial computer & able to pick presidential winners. | |
International Business Machines IBM 701 EDPM Computer | IBM enters into 'The History of Computers'. | |
John Backus & IBM FORTRAN Computer Programming Language | The first successful high level programming language. | |
Stanford Research Institute, Bank of America, and General Electric ERMA and MICR | The first bank industry computer - also MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) for reading checks. | |
Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce The Integrated Circuit | Otherwise known as 'The Chip' | |
Steve Russell & MIT Spacewar Computer Game | The first computer game invented. | |
Douglas Engelbart Computer Mouse & Windows | Nicknamed the mouse because the tail came out the end. | |
ARPAnet | The original Internet. | |
Intel 1103 Computer Memory | The world's first available dynamic RAM chip. | |
Faggin, Hoff & Mazor Intel 4004 Computer Microprocessor | The first microprocessor. | |
Alan Shugart &IBM The "Floppy" Disk | Nicknamed the "Floppy" for its flexibility. | |
Robert Metcalfe & Xerox The Ethernet Computer Networking | Networking. | |
Scelbi & Mark-8 Altair & IBM 5100 Computers | The first consumer computers. | |
Apple I, II & TRS-80 & Commodore Pet Computers | More first consumer computers. | |
Dan Bricklin & Bob Frankston VisiCalc Spreadsheet Software | Any product that pays for itself in two weeks is a surefire winner. | |
Seymour Rubenstein & Rob Barnaby WordStar Software | Word Processors. | |
IBM The IBM PC - Home Computer | From an "Acorn" grows a personal computer revolution | |
Microsoft MS-DOS Computer Operating System | From "Quick And Dirty" comes the operating system of the century. | |
Apple Lisa Computer | The first home computer with a GUI, graphical user interface. | |
Apple Macintosh Computer | The more affordable home computer with a GUI. | |
Microsoft Windows | Microsoft begins the friendly war with Apple. | |