| 300 BC - 1868 |
Getty Images/ PhotoDisk 2003
|
3000 BC
|
The precursor to today's
wire-and-bead abacus was invented in Babylonia |
| |
1612-1614
|
John Napier conceives
"Napier's Bones," ivory rods that serve as an early calculator
|
|
1622
|
The slide rule is invented
by the great mathematician William Oughtred |
|
1642-1643
|
Blaise Pascal invents
the Pascalene, one of the first mechanical calculators |
| |
1801
|
Joseph Jacquard develops
a punch-card-controlled loom that uses binary automation |
|
1820
|
The first mass-produced
calculator, the Thomas Arithmometer, is introduced to the world
|
|
1822
|
Charles Babbage formulates
his design for the Difference Engine, a machine that automatically
computes mathematical tables |
Image: Ch01_Ada
|
1842-1843
|
Augusta Ada Byron earns
her designation as the first computer programmer with her notes
on the analytical engine |
| |
1844
|
Samuel F.B. Morse successfully
transmits the telegraph message "What Hath God Wrought!" across
a wire from Washington D.C. to Baltimore |
|
1854
|
George Boole's famous
paper "An Investigation of the Laws of Thought" is published |
|
1858
|
The first transatlantic
telegraphic communication takes place |
Getty Images/ PhotoDisk 2003
|
1868
|
Christopher Sholes creates
the QWERTY keyboard for the early typewriter |
