1. Code information on cards (pattern of weaving).2. Cards could be linked to present a sense of instruction (programming).3. Could be used for automation.
1642 - Blaise Pascal - invented the first automatic mechanical adding machine called the Pascaline. It could only add and subtract. It didn't sell well, to complicated.
1801 - Joseph Jacquard - developed punch card loom run by punch cards to automate the weaving process. The machine could:
1. Code information on cards (pattern of weaving).
2. Cards could be linked to present a sense of instruction (programming).
3. Could be used for automation.
1833 - Charles Babbage - considered the Father of Computing. Developed the Difference Engine (automatic calculator) and then worked on the Analytical Engine, which had the basic components of the modern computer. It could multiply, store data and be controlled (programmable) with punch cards.
1833 - 1843 - Ada Lovelace (The Countess of Lovelace) - first computer programmer. She met Babbage in 1833 and worked into the 1840s an many years more on his Analytical Engine. She developed many mathmatical solutions. She had the ideas for the following:
1. Concept of a loop
2. Conditional Jump (IF . . . Then statements)
3. Sub-programs
1880-1900 - Herman Hollerith - invented tabulating machine used to do the U.S. Census. The Census took too long to tabulate. Hollerith's boss, Dr. Billings wanted him to solve the problem. The machine used punch cards for it's programming. It was eight times faster than the nearest competitor. Hollerith formed the Computing Tabulating Machine Company (CTR) in 1896, which eventually became IBM.
1910 - James Power - further refined the Census machine process and founded Remington-Rand in 1911.
1924 - Thomas J. Watson, Sr. - Born 1874, was highly principled man who went to sell for NCR (National Cash Register) at age 33. Became 3rd in charge at NCR then was fired at age 40. Took over CTR and changed the name to IBM in 1924. He ran the company like a general with a family spirit. There were no layoffs during the depression. IBM built the first reliable printing tabulators, electric typewriters and punch card machines. Thomas J Watson, Jr. - took IBM into the computer age and developed IBM's reputation for great service.
1939 to 1944 - Howard Eichen - developed the MARK I, the first automatic calculator with a $500,000 grant from IBM (although he never gave any credit to IBM). He used Charles Babbage's ideas. It had paper tape input, punch cards output and electromagnetic relays.
1939 - Professor Atanasof with student Berry at Iowa State developed the first electronic digital computer to solve math problems using binary code. Could solve for 29 simultaneous variables. The machine was called the ABC (Atanasof Berry Computer). The ABC was the first general-purpose digital computer.
1946 - John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert - developed the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator). ENIAC was falsely called the first general-purpose digital computer until a trial awarded the title to the ABC. It took 200,000 man-hours to build, weighed 30 tons, used 18,000 vacuum tubes (one went out every 12 minutes). It was 1,000 times faster than the MARK I. It was programmed like a telephone operator connected calls.
The ENIAC started a computer race. John Neuman in England developed the first stored-program computer called the EDSAC. Its competition in America was called the EDVAC.
1952 - UNIVAC I - first commercial computer you could buy. Eckert, Manchly and Hopper worked on it and Remington-Rand, Sperry-Rand and Unisys helped build it. In 1952 the Census Bureau bought the first one. It predicted that Ike would win the Presidency.
Circa 1958 - Grace M. Hopper - a Naval officer - was the third programmer on the MARK I. Considered the Mother of COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language). She found the first computer bug, literally! There was a moth stuck in the computer and fouling it up. She continued to work on computer and assembler languages. Retired in 1986 as a Rear Admiral. Died in 1992. The U.S.S. Hopper is named after her.
Second Generation (1958 - 1963)
Third Generation (1963 - 1968)
Fourth Generation (1968 - mid 1980s)
Fifth Generation (mid 1980s to present)