Today's personal computers are very different from the massive, ungainly devices that emerged during World War II, and the difference is not only in their size. The "fathers" and "grandfathers" of modern desktops and laptops did not know how to do much of what modern machines effortlessly handle. but the very first computer in the world was a breakthrough in science and technology. Sit back in front of your monitor and we'll tell you how the PC era was born.

Who created the very first computer in the world

In the 40s of the last century, there were several devices at once that could claim the title of the first computer.

Z3

Konrad Zuse

An early computer created by the German engineer Konrad Zuse, who worked in complete isolation from the developments of other scientists. It had a separate block of memory and a separate console for data entry. And their carrier was an eight-track punched card made by Zuse from 35 mm film.

The machine had 2,600 telephone relays and was freely programmable in binary floating point code. The Z3 was used for aerodynamic calculations, but was destroyed during the bombing of Berlin at the end of 1943. Zuse led the reconstruction of his brainchild in the 1960s, and now this programmable machine is on display in the Museum of Munich.

The Mark 1, conceived by Professor Howard Aiken and released by IBM in 1941, was America's first programmable computer. The machine cost half a million dollars, and was used to develop equipment for the US Navy, such as torpedoes and underwater detection. Also "Mark 1" was used in the development of implosion devices for the atomic bomb.

It is "Mark 1" that can be called the very first computer in the world. Its characteristics, unlike the German Z3, made it possible to perform calculations in automatic mode, without requiring human intervention in the work process.

Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC)

In 1939, Professor John Vincent Atanasoff received funds to build a machine called the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC). It was designed and assembled by Atanasov and graduate student Clifford Berry in 1942. However, the ABC device was not widely known until the patent dispute related to the invention of the computer. It was only resolved in 1973, when it was proven that ENIAC co-inventor John Mauchly saw the ABC computer shortly after it became functional.

The legal outcome of the litigation was landmark: Atanasoff was declared the initiator of several major computer ideas, but the computer as a concept was declared unpatentable and therefore freely open to all developers. A full-scale working copy of the ABC was completed in 1997, proving that the ABC machine functioned as Atanasoff claimed.

ENIAC

ENIAC

ENIAC was developed by two scientists from the University of Pennsylvania - John Eckert and John Mauchly. He could solve "a wide range of numerical problems" by reprogramming. Although the car was presented to the public after the war, in 1946, it was important for calculations during subsequent conflicts such as the Cold War and the Korean War. It was used for calculations in the creation of the hydrogen bomb, engineering calculations and the creation of firing tables. She also made weather forecasts in the USSR so that the Americans knew where radioactive fallout could fall in the event of a nuclear war.

Unlike Mark 1 with its electromechanical relays, ENIAC had vacuum tubes. It is believed that ENIAC has carried out more calculations in its ten years of operation than all of humanity up to that time.

EDSAC

EDSAC

The first computer with stored software was called EDSAC. It was assembled in 1949 at the University of Cambridge. The project to create it was led by a Cambridge professor and director of the Cambridge Computational Research Laboratory, Maurice Wilks.

One of the major advances in programming was Wilkes' use of a library of short programs called "subroutines". It was stored on punched cards and used to perform general repetitive calculations as part of the lager program.

What did the first computer in the world look like?

The American "Mark 1" was huge, taking up over 17 meters in length and over 2.5 meters in height. The machine, encased in glass and stainless steel, weighed 4.5 tons, and the total length of its connecting wires barely reached 800 km. A fifteen-meter shaft was responsible for synchronizing the main computing modules, which drove a 4 kW electric motor.

Mark 1 at the IBM Museum

Even heavier than Mark 1 was ENIAC. It weighed 27 tons and required 174 kW of electricity. When it was turned on, the city lights dimmed. The machine had neither a keyboard nor a monitor, occupied an area of ​​135 square meters and was entwined with kilometers of wires. To get an idea of ​​ENIAC's appearance, imagine a long row of metal cabinets lined from top to bottom with light bulbs. Since the computer did not yet have high-quality cooling, it was very hot in the room where it was located, and ENIAC was malfunctioning.

ENIAC

In the USSR, they did not want to lag behind the West and carried out their own developments on the creation of computers. The result of the efforts of Soviet scientists was (MESM). Its first launch took place in 1950. The MESM used 6 thousand lamps, it occupied an area of ​​60 square meters. m and required power up to 25 kW for operation.

MESM

The device could perform up to 3 thousand operations per second. MESM was used for complex scientific calculations, then it was used as a teaching aid, and in 1959 the machine was dismantled.

In 1952, MESM had an older sister - (BESM). The number of vacuum tubes in it has increased to 5 thousand, and the number of operations per second has also increased - from 8 to 10 thousand.

BESM

The world's first commercial computer

Introduced in the US in 1951, it can be called the first computer designed for commercial use.

He became famous after using data from a poll of the eligible 1% to correctly predict that General Dwight Eisenhower would win the 1952 election. When people realized the possibilities of computer data processing, many enterprises began to purchase this machine for their needs.

The very first personal computer in the world

For the first time the term "personal computer" was applied to the creation of the Italian engineer Pier Giorgio Perotto called Programma 101. Produced by Olivetti.

Programma 101

The device cost $3,200 and sold about 44,000 copies. Ten pieces were bought by NASA to use for calculations of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon in 1969. The ABC (American Broadcasting Company) network used Programma 101 to predict the 1968 presidential election. The US military used it to plan their operations during the Vietnam War. It was also purchased for schools, hospitals and government offices and marked the beginning of an era of rapid PC development and sales.

The first mass-produced home computer abroad

In 1975, an article about a new computer set, the Altair 8800, appeared in an issue of Popular Electronics magazine. Within weeks of the device's introduction, customers flooded its manufacturer, MITS, with orders. The machine was equipped with 256-byte memory (expandable to 64 KB) and a universal interface bus, which became the "S-100" standard widely used in hobby and personal computers of that era.

"Altair 8800" could be bought for $397. After the purchase, the owner-radio amateur had to solder and check the performance of the assembled nodes on his own. The difficulties did not end there, we still had to master writing programs using zeros and ones. The Altair 8800 did not have a keyboard or monitor, hard drive, or floppy drive. To enter the desired program, the user clicked the toggle switches on the front panel of the device. And the verification of the results was carried out by observing the lights flashing on the front panel.

A In 1976, the first Apple computer was born., designed and handcrafted by Steve Wozniak and advertised by his friend as the first product of the Apple Computer Company. The Apple 1 is considered the first PC to ship off the shelf.

apple 1

In fact, the device had neither a monitor nor a keyboard (it was possible to connect them). But there was a fully equipped circuit board, on which there were 30 microcircuits. The Altair 8800 and other devices that entered the market did not have this either, they had to be assembled from a set. The Apple 1 originally had an almost "hellish" price of $666.66, however it was dropped to $475 a year later. An add-on board was later released that allowed data to be recorded to a cassette recorder. It cost $75.

The first mass-produced home computer in the USSR

Since the 80s of the XX century, a computer called Pravets began to be produced in Bulgaria. It was a clone of the second version of Apple. Another clone included in the Pravets line was the "Soviet" IBM PC, based on Intel 8088 and 8086 processors. It was produced from 1985 to 1992. Pravets computers were installed in many schools in the Soviet Union.

Those wishing to build their own home computer could use the instructions in the Radio magazine 1982-83. and reproduce the model called "Micro-80". It was based on the KR580VM80 microprocessor, similar to the Intel i8080.

In 1984, the Agat computer appeared in the Soviet Union, which was quite powerful compared to Western models. The amount of RAM was 128 KB, which was twice the amount of RAM in Apple models of the early 80s of the twentieth century. The computer was produced in several modifications, had an external keyboard with 74 keys and a black and white or color screen.

The production of Agats continued until 1993.

Modern computers

Today, modern computer technology is changing very quickly. of modern times are billions of times superior to their ancestors. Every company wants to surprise already jaded users, and so far many succeed in this. Here are just a few of the main themes in recent years:

• The laptop that had an important impact on the development of the industry: Apple Macbook (2006).
• Smartphone that has had an important impact on the development of the industry: Apple iPhone (2007).
• Tablet that has had an important impact on the development of the industry: Apple iPad (2010).
• The first "smart watch": Pulsar Time Computer (1972). They can be seen on the arm of James Bond in the 1973 action movie Live and Let Die.

And, of course, various game consoles: Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo, etc.

We live in interesting times (although it sounds like a Chinese curse). And who knows what awaits in the near future. Neural computers? Quantum computers? Wait and see.

Today, almost every home has a computer, or even more than one. It has become an integral part of our lives, especially with the advent of the Internet. A computer is an assistant in work, a storehouse of information, a way of communication, entertainment ... Give us reason, O Universe, so that it never becomes our master!

We now cannot imagine life without a computer. Today it is difficult for us to understand why the older generation cannot master simple actions in any way and treats the computer with some kind of, almost biased, caution. The younger generation does not even imagine that quite recently there were no computers at all!

Who remembers the first PCs? It was such a wonder! The computer, as such, was bulky. The monitor, made on the principle of a TV, took up a lot of space, was not color. Programs also left much to be desired (I remember a programming class at school). In fact, it was an overgrown calculator. About laptops or tablets, not that there was no question, it was something from the category of a fabulous saucer with a bulk apple.

Yes, with today's computer can not be compared. Today's computer almost performs the function of "head", instead of our own, with leaky memory.

But where did the computer come from? Who invented the computer?

A bit of history

Perhaps I’ll start with what the word “computer” itself means, and what it implies.

So, the word "computer", as is known from the school course, in direct translation means a calculator. By the way, the word itself is not even from the English language, but a derivative of Latin. And it first appeared in one of the English dictionaries at the end of the nineteenth century. Initially, the word computer denoted a profession, that is, a person engaged in calculations using mechanical devices. In the first half of the twentieth century, additions were made to the same dictionary, on the basis of which the word computer became a household word, denoting the computational mechanisms themselves, and not the person using them.

Antikythera mechanism - ancient Greek computing device (100 BC)

The history of the invention of the first mechanism for computing originates in ancient Greece. The mechanism, consisting of 37 bronze gears and four disks, and intended, according to scientists, to calculate the movement of celestial bodies, was found in 1901 on an ancient sunken ship near the Greek island of Antikythera. The find dates back to approximately 100-150 BC. e. An ancient astronomical computer calculated the position of the five planets known at that time and performed mathematical calculations.

Found fragments of the Antikythera Mechanism are stored in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Who invented this mechanism ahead of its time, we, unfortunately, will never know.

The idea of ​​a computing device

Computer(English) computer- "computer") - a device that performs a given sequence of operations (most often associated with numerical calculations and data manipulation).

computer- a device whose computing functionality is based on electronic components: vacuum tubes, semiconductors, resistors, capacitors.

History of the invention of the first computer , perhaps, begins with the ideas of the famous Italian inventor. Back in the 15th century, in his diaries, Leonardo da Vinci gave a sketch of a summing device based on gear rings. (although Leonardo didn’t get beyond the drawings, because the technologies of that time were very primitive for the implementation of his ideas).

Only two centuries later, the brilliant mathematician Pascal managed with great difficulty to realize his project of the Pascaline mechanical adding machine.

The history of the invention of computers is divided into peculiar eras: counting objects on pebbles or bones was transformed into the ancestor of modern counting, the era of gears and levers gave mankind the Pascaline mechanical calculator, later the world saw Babbage's difference engine and, finally, having mastered electricity, a person was able to build an electronic computer (computer).

What is a computer and what is not? Von Neumann machine

John von Neumann laid down the fundamental principles on which modern computers are still being created. Von Neumann architecture- the well-known principle of joint storage of commands and data in the computer's memory. In other words, this means that both the data and the code of the program that operates with this data are in the same memory (RAM).

A typical scheme of a von Neumann computer (computer) is presented below. It consists of the main nodes:

1. Arithmetic logic unit
2. ALU control
3. RAM
4. I/O device

Wondering who invented the first computer, it is necessary to understand the difference between mechanical computing devices and an electronic computer computer. ABC is considered the first electronic digital computer.(Atanasoff-Berry Computer) is an Atanasoff-Berry computer developed by physicist John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry at the University of Iowa between 1937 and 1942. So that officially the history of the invention of the first computer is counted from 1942.

The era of mechanical calculators

The ancient calculator Abacus - the progenitor of the account

Abacus - the ancient progenitor of the account

The very first computing device was the Abacus. This invention is more than two thousand years old. The abacus was a wooden board with stripes along which pebbles moved. A similar principle of operation can be seen in modern accounts, which are distant relatives of Abacus.

Pascal's first mechanical calculator

Pascal's mechanical computer. The laurels of the inventor of the first working mechanical counting mechanism belong to the French mathematician, physicist, inventor Blaise Pascal (June 19, 1623 - August 19, 1662). This mechanical adding machine was able to perform four basic mathematical operations. During his short life, Pascal made 50 of these mechanical calculators.

Charles Babbage - English mathematician, creator of the first analytical engine, which is the prototype of the modern computer. The idea of ​​the analytical engine was based on the principles of a modern digital computer: an input-output device, memory cells, an arithmetic device. Babbage's mechanical computer performed algebraic calculations i.e. operated on variables.

Electromechanical computer Z-1 by Konrad Zuzze

In 1938, the German engineer Konrad Zuse, at his own expense, designed the first mechanical programmable digital computer. It was powered by an electric drive and was located on two tables shifted together, occupying an area of ​​​​4 m / cu. If not for the bombing during the hostilities that destroyed the Z-1, history of the invention of the first computer counted from 1938.

In the same year, Zuse began to create a more advanced model - Z2, which was based on telephone relays. 1941: Zuse creates the Z3, which was the prototype of the modern computer. Z3 could be programmed in binary code, was able to perform calculations on floating point numbers, had a data storage device and was able to read programs from punched tape (!). Zuse's plans were to create the next generation Z on vacuum tubes, but due to the German military campaign, he was denied funding.

After the war, Zuse continued to develop computer technology, already within the walls of his own company, Zuse KG. Later, his company was bought by Siemens. Konrad Zuse was not only a brilliant inventor, but also a talented artist.

Colossus computer

The Colossus computer is a top-secret British project.

During World War II, German radio operators used a special encryption algorithm to transmit secret data.

To speed up the decoding of German messages, the British engineer Tommy Flowers, together with the department of Max Newman, created the Colossus decryption machine in 1943.

The Colossus computer used a large number of electric vacuum tubes, information was entered from punched tape. The work of Flowers and Newman was not appreciated because was kept secret for a long time. Winston Churchill personally signed the order to destroy the decryption machine to pieces. Due to the strictest secrecy, history of the invention of the computer Colossus was not mentioned in the history books.

John Atanasoff's first electronic computer ABC

1942 John Atanasoff, together with Clifford Berry, developed the ABC, the first electronic digital computer in the United States. This electronic machine was not programmable. ABC was the world's first computer WITHOUT MOVING PARTS (relays, cams, etc...). At the moment and according to the law, based on electronic components belongs to John Atanasov.

For a long time it was believed that invention of the first computer owned by Eckert and Moshley, but after lengthy litigation in 1973, federal judge Earl Larson annulled the patent previously owned by Eckert and Moshley, recognizing John Atanasoff as the inventor of the first electronic computer.

Eckert Computer - Moshley ENIAC

In 1946, John Moshley and John Eckert, together with employees of the Moore School of Electrical Engineering in Pennsylvania, developed a large electronic computer designed for military purposes, the Electrical Numerical Integrator and Calculator. ENIAC was implemented on electron vacuum tubes, which greatly accelerated the processing and operations on data. The weight of the computer was 27 tons. All calculations were made in decimal system. To change the job (executable program) ENIAC had to be rewired. The enormous computing power (at the time) of ENIAC was used for military purposes, then for weather forecasting.

What are computers made of?

Any computer is based on an arithmetic logic unit (ALU, processor), memory for storing intermediate results of a calculation, and an input-output device. The nodes of the first computers were implemented on relays, radio tubes. Later, with the advent of transistors and microcircuits, the size of computers decreased significantly, while computing power, on the contrary, increased.

Vacuum triode - the basis of the first electronic computers

The first computers used vacuum triodes (radio tubes) invented by Lee De Forest in 1906. The triode consists of three elements of a glass container placed under vacuum: the anode of the cathode and the grid located between them. A voltage is applied between the anode and cathode. The current between the anode-cathode can be changed by applying a different potential to the grid. That. you can change the state of the triode: on / off. A triode (nowadays a transistor) is a gate, a discrete unit of a computer, on the basis of which more complex logic circuits are built.

In addition to radio tubes, passive electronic components were also widely used: resistors, capacitors. However, only radio tubes failed more often than others. This is due to the very architecture of these vacuum devices: any radio tube has a service life and it is quite short (relative to a semiconductor transistor, for example). Over time, the tube cathode rapidly loses its emission and the tube becomes unusable.

RAM of the first computers

The first RAM was implemented on ferrite rings typed into a matrix. Such a RAM stored information in the form of the direction of magnetization of small ferrite cores. The direction of magnetization of one ferrite ring allows you to store one bit of information. This method of storing data was common until the mid-1970s.

The history of the invention of computers. Our days

After the invention of the semiconductor transistor (1947) and the microcircuit (1952), the creation of computers reached a qualitatively new level. Due to their small size, high switching speed and low power consumption, semiconductors and microcircuits have allowed the development of high-speed computers for all applications.

IBM can be called the inventor of the first personal computer, or rather, the open architecture of the IBM PC, which is a prefabricated structure with expansion slots and support for software and hardware from various companies. The IBM PC standard is the dominant architecture on which all modern computers are now manufactured.

First personal computer The IBM-PC 5150 set a new standard in the microcomputer industry.

Moore's law and the future of computers

Gordon Moore's Law is an empirical observation (working fine until recently) that predicts a doubling of the number of transistors on a processor chip about every 24 months. Thanks to the efforts of the monsters of the industry of building central and video processors such as Intel and Nvidia, we live in an amazing era of virtualization, computer games indistinguishable from Hollywood action graphics.
The number of transistors in Intel processors is approaching two billion, and the crystal of the microcircuit itself can fit on a fingernail. By combining computing cores on one substrate, and the processors themselves on a common motherboard, developers have achieved fantastic computing power. Designing special effects and virtual reality, modeling the most complex biological processes, astronomy and astrophysics are just a few areas where the use of powerful modern computers helps humanity to rapidly develop and learn about the world around.

It is very difficult to imagine modern society without computers. These "smart machines" once entered our lives and became a truly integral part of it. However, there were times when humanity was just taking the first steps towards creating such devices. Who is the creator of the first and what did the first personal computer look like?

When did the first computer appear?

So when did the very first computer appear? If we talk about the first predecessor of modern computers - abacus (abacus), then they were still in ancient Babylon. Since that time, mankind has been able to invent devices that allow simple calculations. Progress could be observed from the end of the nineteenth century, and the peak was in the first half of the twentieth century. In 1938, the first mechanical programmable machine Z1 was created, and on its basis, three years later, the first Z3 computer was created, which has the properties of a modern computer.

Who created the first computer?

It is believed that the first computer was created by the French scientist Blaise Pascal. He owned the idea in 1642 to create the first digital computer. With this discovery, in fact, it all began. Although automatic calculations had many advantages, the use of such a device for financial settlements in France was problematic, as it complicated the initially difficult process of calculations. In ten years, Pascal managed to build fifty and sell about a dozen variants of the machine that many now call the very first computer in the world.

Another prominent scientist in this field is Konrad Zuse, a German engineer and pioneer in computer engineering. Many have heard that laziness is the engine of progress. Zuse did not like complex mathematical calculations so much that he decided to create a computing machine using the binary system. His first computer demanded full dedication, so Konrad Zuse took all his time to create it. As a result, six years later, the world saw his creation.

What did the first computer look like?

Interest is caused not only by the date of creation of the first computer and its creator, but also by how the machine looked. It is important to note that the first mass personal computer and even the devices of the early 90s were much weaker than modern ones. An example is the fact that the amount of modern memory can be compared with the entire disk memory of more than one thousand personal computers of the early nineties. Also for other indicators. The first programmable computer appeared in the United States in 1946. Its weight was about thirty tons. The computer contained 18,000 vacuum tubes.

The device of the first computer

The machine of the French scientist Blaise Pascal was a mechanical device in the form of a box with numerous interconnected gears. With the help of a special rotation of the typesetting wheels, the added numbers were entered into the machine. Divisions 0-9 were applied to each of the wheels. When a number was entered, the wheels scrolled to the desired number. The first generation of computers had five gears. Over time, their number increased to 6 or eight, which made it possible to work with large numbers.

First use of computers

The earliest computers were built for computing only. Even very primitive machines outnumbered humans. The second use of computers was databases. The government and banks needed them. For these purposes, more complex machines with advanced input and output systems and information storage were required. For this reason, the Kobal language was then developed.

The first home computers

The first personal computers appeared in the 1970s. At that time, some people at home began to assemble computers, and only with a research interest. At that time, the use of such personal computers at home was not. And already in 1975, the first personal computer Altair 8800 appeared. It was called the first commercially successful PC. Its creator is the American engineer Henry Edward Roberts.

The first computer - interesting facts

There are many informative facts about the first computers:

1. The first computer in the world was impressive. Its weight was about thirty tons. For one such machine, a large room filled with cabinets with electronic equipment was needed. In those days, computers could run on expensive large vacuum tubes.
2. The very first computer in the world had to serve a whole staff of engineers. Then it was necessary to specially connect a lot of wires, which took a lot of time.
3. The first microprocessors processed only four bits of information. Marchian Edward Hoff became their inventor in 1970.
4. The first personal computer, the Altair-8800, had neither a screen nor a keyboard. However, he was still in demand. So, in the first month alone, more than a thousand sets were sold.
5. Until now, personal computers are manufactured according to the same standards. The IBM PC model can be considered the standard for all modern personal computers.
6. The first PCs from the manufacturer IBM were sold at a price of three thousand dollars with a black and white display, and with a color one - six thousand dollars. Moreover, when the company released the first computer, it could not have imagined that it would be possible to sell so many copies.

Perhaps today it is impossible to imagine life without the use of computers. They are very densely included in almost all areas of human activity.

Computers help to store and process huge amounts of data at high speed, which can greatly optimize the workflow. Every year, the storage capacity of disk space increases, and the size of computers decreases: from desktop computers, to thin all-in-ones and mobile laptops.

However, computers have not always had such qualities. Let's take a look at how the very first computer appeared, who was its creator, and how we generally got to this point :)

When did the first computer appear

It is generally accepted that the first arithmetic abacus invented in Ancient Babylon was the first stage in the emergence of computing technology and the progenitor of the modern computer. These accounts were called - abacus. The mechanism of the abacus was quite simple and was a board with lines. Calculations were made by placing stones or other objects on these lines.

Xuanpan - Chinese abacus 2

Over time, an improved version of the abacus appeared in China, which was called suanpan. Ropes were stretched through these scores, on which bones were strung in the form of balls. The counting board allowed four basic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In addition, it was possible to extract cube and square roots.

Antikythera mechanism for astronomers 3

After some time in Greece they made a device that allows you to do astronomical calculations. It was named the Antikythera Mechanism, after the island near which the mechanism was found. The device consisted of toothed gears inside a wooden case, with dials placed outside. Then the Catalan thinker Raymond Lull, who created a logical machine from paper circles lined up in ternary logic and divided by lines into special compartments.

Leo da Vinci mechanism 4

The next step was made by everyone familiar with Leo da Vinci. In his diaries, he described a 13-bit device with ten summation rings. A similar mechanism was developed later, only in the 20th century according to the drawings of Leo.

Counting clock by Wilhelm Schickard 5

Tübingen professor Wilhelm Schickard created a computing device with toothed gears, called a counting clock. They allowed to do addition and subtraction of six-digit 10th numbers. Another mechanism did multiplication.

Slide rule 6

Mathematicians William Oughtred and Richard Delamain develop a slide rule capable of performing a variety of computational operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, square and cube roots, logarithm, trigonometric and hyperbolic calculations. Isn't it great?

Arithmetic Pascaline 7

The Frenchman Blaise Pascal created an arithmetic machine called the Pascaline. It was a mechanical device in the form of a box with gears for subtraction and summation of five-digit 10th numbers.

Leibniz arithmometer 8

Mathematician and thinker Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz created an adding machine that allows you to do four basic mathematical operations. Leibniz then described the binary number system, finding that when groups of numbers are written one below the other, zeros and ones in vertical columns are repeated. Leibniz made calculations and realized that the binary code can be applied in mechanics, but the technical possibilities of his time do not allow creating a device.

Fundamentals of Math Analysis 9

The mathematician Isaac Newton laid the foundation for mathematical analysis. Based on the work of Leibniz, mathematician Christian Ludwig Gersten created an arithmetic machine for calculating the quotient and the number of consecutive additions during multiplication. The device also allowed to control the correctness of entering numbers.

Difference Engine Idea 10

Johann Müller, being a military engineer, put forward the idea of ​​a "difference machine" - an adding machine for tabulating logarithms, while improving a mechanical calculator based on Leibniz's stepped rollers.

Loom on punched cards 11

French inventor Joseph Marie Jacquard creates a loom that is controlled by punched cards. Another Frenchman, Thomas de Colmar, began the very first industrial production of adding machines.

Babbage's Difference Engine 12

Charles Babbage invented the first difference machine - an adding machine for automatically building mathematical tables. However, Babbage could not assemble the mechanism, but his son did it after the death of his father.

Based on the work of Charles Babbage, the Schutz brothers, Georg and Edward, create the first difference engine.

The mechanism of ternary reckoning 13

Thomas Fowler built a ternary counting mechanism with a ternary number system.

Chebyshev arithmometer 14

The Russian mathematician Chebyshev created the Chebyshev adding machine, which allows you to do summation with the transfer of tens, as well as multiply and divide numbers.

Census system 15

Herman Hollerith developed an electronic tabulating system used for the US census.

Differential Equation Machine 16

According to the work of the Russian scientist Krylov, a machine of ordinary differential equations was created.

Bush Analog Computer 17

American scientist Vanivar Bush developed a mechanical analog computer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Konrad Zuse's first computer 18

German engineer Konrad Zuse, in collaboration with Helmut Schreyer, created a movement called - Z1, which was a programmable digital movement. The first trial version was not used anywhere. Soon the machine Z2 was created, and then Z3 - which became the first computing machine with the properties of a modern computer.

Atanasoff Computer - Berry 19

American mathematician of Bulgarian origin John Atanasoff, together with his graduate student Clifford Berry, developed the first electronic digital computer called ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer - ABC).

Colossus in the fight against the Nazis 20

For military purposes, to decipher the secret codes of Nazi Germany, the British machine Colossus was developed.

Mark 1 for US Navy 21

An American group of engineers led by Howard Aiken developed the first American computer - Mark 1. The machine began to be used for calculations in the US Navy.

First programming language 22

Konrad Zuse developed a new and faster version of the Z4 computer. In addition, the first programming language, Plankalkül, was created.

Computer Lebedev 23

The first Soviet electronic computer was created by a group of engineers led by the Soviet scientist Lebedev.

Transistor Amplifier 24

Bell Labs scientists William Shockley, Walter Brattain, and John Bardeen created the transistor amplifier, which helped reduce the size of computers and eliminate the use of vacuum tubes.

First transistorized computer 25

The American company NCR created the very first transistorized computer.

ENIAC 26

The first electronic digital computer ENIAC (ENIAC) was developed at IBM

System 360 computers 27

IBM created the System 360 computers, which were an example of a standard for computer hardware manufacturers and compatibility with other computer hardware.

Intel 28 microprocessors

Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore create Intel and are engaged in the creation of memory microchips, and later microprocessors.

Basic computer kit 29

Douglas Engelbart creates a system that includes: an alphanumeric keyboard, a mouse and a program for displaying a data screen.

Computer Mouse Maker 30

Inventor Douglas Engelbart, who also later came up with the graphical interface, hypertext, text editor, online group conferences, created the computer mouse.

Father of the Future Internet 31

The US Department of Defense is building the ARPAnet, the future Internet.

Floppy disk 32

A floppy disk drive sized 200 mm, 133 mm, 90 mm has been created.

First microprocessor 33

The first microprocessor on an integrated circuit appeared - Intel 4004, which has a 4-bit capacity. The processor was used in calculators and traffic lights. Soon there were 8-bit Intel 8008, Intel 8080, Zilog Z80, MOS 6502, Motorola 6800, as well as 16-bit Intel 8086 and Intel 8088, which were already used in personal computers.

What did the first computer look like?

The very first computers were huge and low in performance. To accommodate one computer, a separate and large room was required. Computers required a lot of electricity to run, which was very expensive. In addition, a whole staff of trained specialists was needed to maintain and work with the computer.

First use of computer 35

The cost of computers was very huge, they were not initially in mass demand and only large companies could buy them. The first computers were designed for mathematical calculations. In addition, they stored and processed data, in not very large volumes. Initially, computers were used only by research institutes, later large companies and banks began to use them.

Finally

Since then, computers have taken over the world, yet even our older generation couldn't use them for their education, let alone entertainment. But the rapid development of computer technology, laid down by the joint efforts of many inventors, made the computer accessible to almost everyone. What was your first computer?