History of Computers

Fortran

1957; Formula Translation

Ada

1980; not an acronym, it was named after Ada Lovelace.

COBOL

1995; stands for Common Business- Oriented Language

La Pascaline

Carried tens and hundreds, which made it easier to work numbers larger than 10; The numbers that are added are set up by turning discs on the bottom; First machine mechanical adding and subtract.

Steve Wozniak

He co-invented the company Apple and invented the Apple I computer. He personally invented the Apple II

Steve Jobs

He co-invented the company Apple and many of its inventions, like the Apple I and the iPhone

Joseph-Marie Jacquard

He invented the Jacquard Weaving Loom

John von Neumann

He invented the von Neumann Machine and helped modify the ENIAC.

J. Presper Eckert

Invented ENIAC and UNIVAC I

Abacus

Invented around 3000 BC; Taught children how to do simple arithmetic; Still used today by street vendors

ENIAC

Invented by John Mauchly and John Presper Eckert in 1945; The ENIAC was the first electronic computer that could be used for general purposes; It is composed of vacuum tubes and switches.

EDVAC

Invented by Von Neumann in 1947; It was the first internally stored program computer. It is the successor of the ENIAC; It is a multipurpose computer that was able to hold program in memory

Slide Rule

Invented by William Oughtred in 1625

The Stepped Reckoner

Invented in 1673; It is important because it calculated numbers in decimal form; The machine performs multiplication by repeated addition and division by repeated subtraction; First mechanical calculator, added subtracted multiplied and divided.

Jacquard Weaving Loom

Invented in 1801 by Joseph Jacquard; This was the first machine to use punched cards. It enabled workers to produce patterns a lot quicker; It utilizes punch cards that follows algorithms to create different designs and styles; Punch card had 80 rows, breakthrough in textile industry.

Difference Engine

Invented in 1821 by Charles Babbage; It calculated values of polynomials using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; It eliminates the need for multiplication; Powered by steam.

Tabulating Machine

Invented in 1889 by Herman Hollerith; It was important because it was able to compile and process data; The Tabulating Machine reads the data based on the configuration of the hole punches

Mark I

Invented in 1944 by Howard Aiken with help from IBM and Harvard; It is important because it is the first computer and was used by the US navy; It reads paper tape, instead of the normal punched cards.

Charles Babbage

Invented the Difference and Analytical Engine.

Joh Mauchly

Invented the ENIAC and the UNIVAC

Blaise Pascal

Invented the La Pascaline, which is an early calculator

Gottfried Leibniz

Invented the Leibniz Wheel, or Stepped Reckoner

Howard Aiken

Invented the Mark I

Herman Hollerith

Invented the Tabulating Machine

William Oughtred

Invented the earliest form of the Slide Rule

UNIVAC

It was invented in 1951 by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert; It was the first computer for commercial use. It also used in presidential elections to see who won; It handled both numbers and alphabetic character equally well; First business computer.

Ada Byron Lovelace

She was the first computer programmer; She devised a method of using punch cards to calculate numbers.

Computer

a programmable usually electronic device that can store, retrieve, and process data.