The History of Computers

The history of computers starting from 300 BCE when electronic computers were first named to perform work, the role of human computers in performing calculations, the development of the abacus, and the early gear-driven calculating machines by various inventors.

Wilhelm Schickard's calculating clock and Blaise Pascal's Pascaline, which were early gear-driven calculating machines designed for mathematical computations, along with Joseph Marie Jacquard's power loom invention in 1801.

The proposal of the steam-driven calculating machine by Charles Babbage, the difficulties in constructing Babbage's Difference Engine, and Herman Hollerith's use of punch cards for the 1890 census and the founding of his company later known as IBM.

The development of mechanical calculators by IBM, such as the Harvard Mark 1 in 1944, Grace Hopper's debugging of the Mark 1, and the role of Colossus in breaking cryptographic codes during World War II.

The introduction of ENIAC as one of the first all-electric digital computers, its massive size, usage of vacuum tubes, and the subsequent development of UNIVAC, the first commercial computer to use magnetic tape.

The partnership between IBM and Microsoft, the rise of Microsoft as a dominant player, the invention of the microprocessor at Intel in 1971, and the development of the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004.