Chronology for the History of Science

A Very Problematic Chronology of the History of Science

Caveat:

Please note that these are just working notes, with many descriptions lifted directly out of other bits and pieces online.  I always thought that I would do something much bigger with this, but it looks as though this is just not going to happen.  So I’m going to post these notes anyway, with the caveat that this is not necessarily original with me (sorry!), and that there are gapping holes in it.  Nonetheless, it may prove useful to someone, and I’ll certainly try to maintain and update it as the other chron file here will surface and get added.  So, that said,

 

 

60	Hero of Alexandria writes Metrica Mechanics and Pneumatics
80 AD	The Antikythera Device, a bronze mechanical lunar month calculator, is constructed in Greece
1269	Pèlerin de Maricourt describes magnetic poles and remarks on the nonexistence of isolated magnetic poles
1305	Dietrich von Freiberg uses crystalline spheres and flasks filled with water to study the reflection and refraction in raindrops that
1490	Leonardo da Vinci describes capillary action
1576	Thomas Digges modifies the Copernican system by removing its outer edge and replacing the edge with a star filled unbounded space
1581	Galileo Galilei notices the timekeeping property of the pendulum
1589	Galileo Galilei uses balls rolling on inclined planes to show that different weights fall with the same acceleration
1604	Johannes Kepler describes how the eye focuses light
1610	Johannes Kepler uses the dark night sky to argue for a finite universe
1611	Marko Dominis discusses the rainbow in De Radiis Visus et Lucis
1611	Johannes Kepler discovers total internal reflection, a small angle refraction law, and thin lens optics
1621	Willebrord Snell states his law of refraction
1622	William Oughtred invents the slide rule. This first one was circular.
1623	Wilhelm Schickard designs the first known mechanical calculator, the "Calculating Clock" to multiply large numbers.
1637	René Descartes quantitatively derives the angles at which primary and secondary rainbows are seen with respect to the angle of the
1638	Galileo Galilei publishes Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences
1640	Ismael Bullialdus suggests an inverse-square gravitational force law
1642	Blaise Pascal invents an adding machine which he calls the Pascaline. It could perform addition and subtraction, but it was too expensive to be practical and only Pascal could keep it working
1657	Pierre de Fermat introduces the principle of least time into optics
1658	Christian Huygens experimentally discovers that balls placed anywhere inside an inverted cycloid reach the lowest point of the cycloid in the same time and thereby experimentally shows that the cycloid is the isochrone
1665	Isaac Newton deduces the inverse-square gravitational force law from the ``falling'' of the Moon
1666	Samuel Morland builds a mechanical calculator that will add and subtract
1668	John Wallis suggests the law of conservation of momentum
1674	Gottfried Leibnez, the man to blame for the invention of calculus, uses a stepped cylindrical gear to build his "Stepped Reckoner" which will both add and multiply
1678	Christian Huygens states his principle of wavefront sources
1679	Leibniz introduces binary mathematics
1684	Isaac Newton proves that planets moving under an inverse-square force law will obey Kepler's laws
1686	Isaac Newton uses a fixed length pendulum with weights of varying composition to test the weak equivalence principle to 1 part in 1000
1687	Isaac Newton publishes his Principia Mathematica
1690	James Bernoulli shows that the cycloid is the solution to the isochrone problem
1691	Johann Bernoulli shows that a chain freely suspended from two points will form a catenary
1691	James Bernoulli shows that the catenary curve has the lowest center of gravity that any chain hung from two fixed points can have
1696	Johann Bernoulli shows that the cycloid is the solution to the brachistochrone problem
1704	Isaac Newton publishes Opticks
1714	Brook Taylor derives the fundamental frequency of a stretched vibrating string in terms of its tension and mass per unit length by solving an ordinary differential equation
1720	Edmund Halley puts forth an early form of Olbers' paradox
1728	James Bradley discovers the aberration of starlight and uses it to determine that the speed of light is about 283,000 km/s
1733	Daniel Bernoulli derives the fundamental frequency and harmonics of a hanging chain by solving an ordinary differential equation
1734	Daniel Bernoulli solves the ordinary differental equation for the vibrations of an elastic bar clamped at one end
1738	Daniel Bernoulli examines fluid flow in Hydrodynamica
1739	Leonhard Euler solves the ordinary differential equation for a forced harmonic oscillator and notices the resonance phenomenon
1742	Colin Maclaurin discovers his uniformly rotating self-gravitating spheroids
1744	Jean-Phillipe de Cheseaux puts forth an early form of Olbers' paradox
1747	Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis applies minimum principles to mechanics
1752	Benjamin Franklin shows that lightning is electricity
1759	Leonhard Euler solves the partial differential equation for the vibration of a rectangular drum
1761	Joseph Black discovers that ice absorbs heat without changing temperature when melting
1764	Leonhard Euler examines the partial differential equation for the vibration of a circular drum and finds one of the Bessel function solutions
1766	Henry Cavendish discovers and studies hydrogen
1767	Joseph Priestly proposes an electrical inverse-square law
1774	Phillip-Malthus Hahn builds and sells a small number of calculating machines which are accurate to 12 digits
1777	The third Earl of Stanhope invents a multiplying calculator
1778	Carl Scheele and Antoine Lavoisier discover that air is composed mostly of nitrogen and oxygen
1781	Joseph Priestly creates water by igniting hydrogen and oxygen
1784	John Michell discusses classical bodies which have escape velocities greater than the speed of light
1785	Charles Coulomb introduces the inverse-square law of electrostatics
1786	Luigi Galvani discovers ``animal electricity'' and postulates that animal bodies are storehouses of electricity
1788	Joseph Lagrange presents Lagrange's equations of motion in Mécanique Analytique
1789	Antoine Lavoisier states the law of conservation of mass
1795	Pierre Laplace discusses classical bodies which have escape velocities greater than the speed of light
1798	Henry Cavendish measures the gravitational constant
1798	Count Rumford has the idea that heat is a form of energy
1803-4	Joseph-Marie Jacquard invents an automated loom which uses punched cards to reproduce complex patterns.
1800	William Nicholson and Anthony Carlisle use electrolysis to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen
1800	William Herschel discovers infrared radiation from the Sun
1801	Johann Ritter discovers ultraviolet radiation from the Sun
1801	Thomas Young demonstrates the wave nature of light and the principle of interference
1803	John Dalton introduces atomic ideas into chemistry and states that matter is composed of atoms of different weights
1809	Étienne Malus publishes the law of Malus which predicts the light intensity transmitted by two polarizing sheets
1811	Amedeo Avogadro claims that equal volumes of gases should contain equal numbers of molecules
1811	Fran\ccois Arago discovers that some quartz crystals will continuously rotate the electric vector of light
1816	David Brewster discovers stress birefringence
1818	Siméon Poisson predicts the Poisson bright spot at the center of the shadow of a circular opaque obstacle
1820	Hans Oersted notices that a current in a wire can deflect a compass needle
1820	The first mass-produced calculating machine, Thomas de Colmar's Arithmometer, is marketed and continues in use for many years.
1821	William Hamilton begins his analysis of Hamilton 's characteristic function
1822	Joseph Fourier formally introduces the use of dimensions for physical quantities in his Theorie Analytique de la Chaleur
1822	Charles Babbage begins work on the Difference Engine
1824	Sadi Carnot scientifically analyzes the efficiency of steam engines
1825	Augustin Fresnel phenomenologically explains optical activity by introducing circular birefringence
1826	Simon Ohm states his law of electrical resistance
1826	Heinrich Olbers puts forth Olbers' paradox
1827	Robert Brown discovers the Brownian motion of pollen and dye particles in water
1829	The first typewriter is patented by William Austin Burt. It's slow and clumsy, but it's the first writing machine.
1831	Michael Faraday states his law of induction
1831	The telegraph is invented
1832	Michael Faraday states his laws of electrolysis
1832	Babbage completes a portion of his Difference Engine
1833	Heinrich Lenz states that an induced current in a closed conducting loop will appear in such a direction that it opposes the change that
1834	Benoit-Pierre Clapeyron presents a formulation of the second law of thermodynamics
1834	Carl Jacobi discovers his uniformly rotating self-gravitating ellipsoids
1834	John Russell observes a nondecaying solitary water wave in the Union Canal near Edinburgh and uses a water tank to study the dependence of solitary water wave velocities on wave amplitude and water depth
1834	Babbage begins work on the Analytical Engine
1835	William Hamilton states Hamilton 's canonical equations of motion
1835	Gaspard de Coriolis examines motion on a spinning surface deduces the Coriolis effect
1840	Lord Byron's daughter, Ada , Countess of Lovelace, suggests to Babbage that he use the binary system. She writes programs for his analytical engine, becoming the world's first programmer
1842	Christian Doppler examines the Doppler shift of sound
1843	James Joule experimentally finds the mechanical equivalent of heat
1843	Ada translates Luigi Menabrea's theories of the analytical engine and adds her own commentary
1845	Urbain Leverrier observes a 35'' per century excess precession of Mercury's orbit
1845	Michael Faraday discovers that light propagation in a material can be influenced by external magnetic fields
1847	Hermann Helmholtz formally states the law of conservation of energy
1848	Lord Kelvin discovers the absolute zero point of temperature
1849	Armand Fizeau and Jean-Bernard Foucault measure the speed of light to be about 298,000 km/s
1850's	George Boole develops Boolean Logic which will one day become the basis for computer logic.
1851	Jean-Bernard Foucault shows the Earth's rotation with a huge pendulum
1852	James Joule and Lord Kelvin demonstrate that a rapidly expanding gas cools
1852	George Stokes defines the Stokes parameters of polarization
1853	Scheutz invents the first printing calculator
1859	James Clerk Maxwell discovers the distribution law of molecular velocities
1864	James Clerk Maxwell publishes his papers on a dynamical theory of the electromagnetic field
1870	Rudolph Clausius proves the scalar virial theorem
1871	Dmitri Mendeleyev systematically examines the periodic table and predicts the existence of gallium, scandium, and germanium
1871	Lord Rayleigh discusses the blue sky law and sunsets
1872	Ludwig Boltzmann states the Boltzmann equation for the temporal development of distribution functions in phase space
1873	Johannes van der Waals introduces the idea of weak attractive forces between molecules
1873	James Clerk Maxwell states that light is an electromagnetic phenomenon
1874	Lord Kelvin formally states the second law of thermodynamics
1875	John Kerr discovers the electrically induced birefringence of some liquids
1876	William Clifford suggests that the motion of matter may be due to changes in the geometry of space
1876	William Clifford suggests that the motion of matter may be due to changes in the geometry of space
1876	William Clifford suggests that the motion of matter may be due to changes in the geometry of space
1876	Josiah Gibbs begins a two-year long series of papers which discusses phase equilibria, the free energy as the driving force behind chemical reactions, and chemical thermodynamics in general
1879	Josef Stefan observes that the total radiant flux from a blackbody is proportional to the fourth power of its temperature
1882	Simon Newcomb observes a 43'' per century excess precession of Mercury's orbit
1882	William S. Burroughs quits his job as a bank clerk and sets out to invent a reliable adding machine.
1884	Ludwig Boltzmann derives the Stefan-Boltzmann blackbody radiant flux law from thermodynamic considerations
1885	Johann Balmer finds a mathematical expression for observed hydrogen line wavelengths
1887	Albert Michelson and Edward Morley do not detect the ether drift
1887	Heinrich Hertz discovers the photoelectric effect
1888	Henri-Louis Le Châtelier states that the response of a chemical system perturbed from equilbrium will be to counteract the perturbation
1888	Heinrich Hertz discovers radio waves
1889	Roland von Eötvös uses a torsion fiber balance to test the weak equivalence principle to 1 part in one billion
1890	Dr. Herman Hollerith introduces the first electro-mechanical punched-card data processing machine. It is used to compile information from the 1890 US census.
1892	Burroughs produces the first adding machine with a printer
1893	Ernst Mach states Mach's principle---first constructive attack on the idea of Newtonian absolute space
1893	Wilhelm Wien discovers the displacement law for a blackbody's maximum specific intensity
1894	Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay discover argon by spectroscopically analyzing the gas left over after nitrogen and oxygen are
1895	Pierre Curie discovers that induced magnetization is proportional to magnetic field strength
1895	William Ramsay discovers terrestrial helium by spectroscopically analyzing gas produced by decaying uranium
1895	Wilhelm R\"ontgen discovers X-rays
1896	Antoine Becquerel discovers the radioactivity of uranium
1896	Pieter Zeeman studies the splitting of sodium D lines when sodium is held in a flame between strong magnetic poles
1896	Arnold Sommerfeld solves the half-plane diffraction problem
1897	Joseph Thomson discovers the electron
1898	William Ramsay and Morris Travers discover neon, krypton, and xenon
1898	Marie Curie and Pierre Curie isolate and study radium and polonium
1899	Ernest Rutherford discovers that uranium radiation is composed of positively charged alpha particles and negatively charged beta particles
1899	Magnetic recording is invented.
1900	Paul Villard discovers gamma-rays while studying uranium decay
1900	Johannes Rydberg refines the expression for observed hydrogen line wavelengths
1900	Max Planck states his quantum hypothesis and blackbody radiation law
1901	Hollerith starts his own company, the Tabulating Machine Company, to market his data processing machines.
1902	James Jeans finds the length scale required for gravitational pertrubatations to grow in a static nearly homogeneous medium
1902	Philipp Lenard observes that maximum photoelectron energies are independent of illuminating intensity but depend on frequency
1902	Theodor Svedberg suggests that fluctuations in molecular bombardment cause the Brownian motion
1905	Albert Einstein completes his theory of special relativity and states the law of mass-energy conservation
1905	Albert Einstein mathematically analyzes the Brownian motion
1905	Albert Einstein explains the photoelectric effect
1906	Walther Nernst presents a formulation of the third law of thermodynamics
1906	Charles Barkla discovers that each element has a characteristic X-ray and that the degree of penetration of these X-rays is related to
1906	William DeForest invents the vacuum tube
1907	Albert Einstein introduces the principle of equivalence of gravitation and inertia and uses it to predict the gravitational redshift
1909	Hans Geiger and Ernest Marsden discover large angle deflections of alpha particles by thin metal foils
1909	Ernest Rutherford and Thomas Royds demonstrate that alpha particles are doubly ionized helium atoms
1910	Albert Einstein and Marian Smoluchowski find the Einstein-Smoluchowski formula for the attenuation coefficient due to density fluctuations in a gas
1911	Heike Kammerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity
1911	Ernest Rutherford explains the Geiger-Marsden experiment by invoking a nuclear atom model and derives the Rutherford cross section
1912	Pieter Debye derives the T-cubed law for the low temperature heat capacity of a nonmetallic solid
1912	Max von Laue suggests using lattice solids to diffract X-rays
1912	Walter Friedrich and Paul Knipping diffract X-rays in zinc blende
1913	William Bragg and Lawrence Bragg work out the Bragg condition for strong X-ray reflection
1913	Henry Moseley shows that nuclear charge is the real basis for numbering the elements
1913	Niels Bohr presents his quantum model of the atom
1913	Robert Millikan measures the fundamental unit of electric charge
1913	Johannes Stark demonstrates that strong electric fields will split the Balmer spectral line series of hydrogen
1914	James Franck and Gustav Hertz observe atomic excitation
1914	Ernest Rutherford suggests that the positively charged atomic nucleus contains protons
1915	Albert Einstein completes his theory of general relativity
1915	Arnold Sommerfeld develops a modified Bohr atomic model with elliptic orbits to explain relativistic fine structure
1916	Albert Einstein shows that the field equations of general relativity admit wavelike solutions
1916	Sydney Chapman and David Enskog systematically develop a kinetic theory of gases
1916	Gilbert Lewis and Irving Langmuir formulate an electron shell model of chemical bonding
1916	Karl Schwarzschild solves the Einstein vacuum field equations for uncharged spherically symmetric systems
1917	Albert Einstein introduces the idea of stimulated radiation emission
1917	Willem de Sitter derives an isotropic static cosmology with a cosmological constant as well as an empty expanding cosmology with a
1917	Aberdeen Proving Grounds begins computing ballistics tables
1918	J. Lense and Hans Thirring find the gravitomagnetic precession of gyroscopes in the equations of general relativity
1918	H. Reissner and G. Nordstrøm solve the Einstein-Maxwell field equations for charged spherically symmetric systems
1919	Arthur Eddington leads a solar eclipse expedition which claims to detect gravitational deflection of light by the Sun
1919	James Jeans discovers that the dynamical constants of motion determine the distribution function for a system of particles
1919	Two American physicists, Eccles and Jordan, invent the flip-flop circuit which will be necessary for high-speed electronic calculating.
1920	Meghnad Saha states his ionization equation
1921	T. Kaluza demonstrates that a five-dimensional version of Einstein's equations unifies gravitation and electromagnetism
1921	Alfred Landé introduces the Lande g-factor
1922	Arthur Compton studies X-ray photon scattering by electrons
1922	Otto Stern and Walter Gerlach show ``space quantization''
1922	Vesto Slipher summarizes his findings on the spiral nebulae's systematic redshifts
1922	Alexander Friedmann finds a solution to the Einstein field equations which suggests a general expansion of space
1923	Pieter Debye and Erich Hückel publish a statistical treatment of the dissociation of electrolytes
1923	Louis de Broglie suggests that electrons may have wavelike properties
1923	George Birkhoff proves that the Schwarzschild spacetime geometry is the unique spherically symmetric solution of the Einstein
1924	Wolfgang Pauli states the quantum exclusion principle
1924	John Lennard-Jones proposes a semiempirical interatomic force law
1924	Satyendra Bose and Albert Einstein introduce Bose-Einstein statistics
1925	Ernst Ising presents the solution to the one-dimensional Ising model and models ferromagnetism as a cooperative spin phenomenon
1925	George Uhlenbeck and Samuel Goudsmit postulate electron spin
1925	Pierre Auger discovers the Auger autoionization process
1925	Werner Heisenberg, Max Born, and Pascual Jordan formulate quantum matrix mechanics
1926	Erwin Schrödinger states his nonrelativistic quantum wave equation and formulates quantum wave mechanics
1926	Erwin Schrödinger proves that the wave and matrix formulations of quantum theory are mathematically equivalent
1926	Oskar Klein and Walter Gordon state their relativistic quantum wave equation
1926	Enrico Fermi discovers the spin-statistics connection
1926	Paul Dirac introduces Fermi-Dirac statistics
1927	Clinton Davission, Lester Germer, and George Thomson confirm the wavelike nature of electrons
1927	Werner Heisenberg states the quantum uncertainty principle
1927	Max Born interprets the probabilistic nature of wavefunctions
1927	Georges-Henri Lemaître discusses the creation event of an expanding universe governed by the Einstein field equations
1928	J.B. Johnson discovers Johnson noise in a resistor
1928	Harry Nyquist derives the fluctuation-dissipation relationship for a resistor to explain Johnson noise
1928	Chandrasekhara Raman studies optical photon scattering by electrons
1928	Paul Dirac states his relativistic electron quantum wave equation
1928	Charles G. Darwin and Walter Gordon solve the Dirac equation for a Coulomb potential
1928	Harold Robertson briefly mentions that Vesto Slipher's redshift measurements combined with brightness measurements of the same
1928	IBM adopts the 80 column punched card - used for the next 50 years Teletypewriters and teleprinters come into limited use in Britain , Germany and the US
1929	Oskar Klein discovers the Klein paradox
1929	Oskar Klein and Y. Nishina derive the Klein-Nishina cross section for high energy photon scattering by electrons
1929	N.F. Mott derives the Mott cross section for the Coulomb scattering of relativistic electrons
1929	Edwin Hubble demonstrates the linear redshift-distance relation and thus shows the expansion of the universe
1930	Paul Dirac introduces electron hole theory
1930	Erwin Schrödinger predicts the zitterbewegung motion
1930	Fritz London explains van der Waals forces as due to the interacting fluctuating dipole moments between molecules
1930	Vannevar Bush builds the differential analyzer at M.I.T.
1931	John Lennard-Jones proposes the Lennard-Jones interatomic potential
1931	Irène Joliot-Curie and Frédéric Joliot-Curie observe but misinterpret neutron scattering in parafin
1931	Wolfgang Pauli puts forth the neutrino hypothesis to explain the apparent violation of energy conservation in beta decay
1931	Linus Pauling discovers resonance bonding and uses it to explain the high stability of symmetric planar molecules
1931	Paul Dirac shows that charge conservation can be explained if magnetic monopoles exist
1931	Harold Urey discovers deuterium using evaporation concentration techniques and spectroscopy
1932	John Cockcroft and Thomas Walton split lithium and boron nuclei using proton bombardment
1932	James Chadwick discovers the neutron
1932	Werner Heisenberg presents the proton-neutron model of the nucleus and uses it to explain isotopes
1932	Carl Anderson discovers the positron
1933	Walter Meissner and R. Ochsenfeld discover perfect superconducting diamagnetism
1933	Max Delbrück suggests that quantum effects will cause photons to be scattered by an external electric field
1933	Edward Milne names and formalizes the cosmological principle
1934	Irène Joliot-Curie and Frédéric Joliot-Curie bombard aluminum atoms with alpha particles to create artificially radioactive phosphorus-30
1934	Leo Szilard realizes that nuclear chain reactions may be possible
1934	Enrico Fermi formulates his theory of beta decay
1934	Lev Landau tells Edward Teller that nonlinear molecules may have vibrational modes which remove the degeneracy of an orbitally
1934	Enrico Fermi suggests bombarding uranium atoms with neutrons to make a 93 proton element
1934	Pavel Cerenkov reports that light is emitted by relativistic particles traveling in a nonscintillating liquid
1934	Georges-Henri Lemaître interprets the cosmological constant as due to a ``vacuum'' energy with an unusual perfect fluid equation of state
1934	The Moore School differential analyzer is completed
1935	Hideki Yukawa presents a theory of strong interactions and predicts mesons
1935	Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen put forth the EPR paradox
1935	Niels Bohr presents his analysis of the EPR paradox
1935	IBM introduces the electric typewriter
1936	Eugene Wigner develops the theory of neutron absorption by atomic nuclei
1936	Hans Jahn and Edward Teller present their systematic study of the symmetry types for which the Jahn-Teller effect is expected
1936	Konrad Zuse applies for a patent on his mechanical memory Alan Turing publishes On Computable Numbers which lays a theoretical foundation for computer principles
1937	Fritz Zwicky states that galaxies could act as gravitational lenses
1937	Albert Einstein, Leopold Infeld, and Banesh Hoffman show that the geodesic equations of general relativity can be deduced from its field equations
1937	H. Hellmann finds the Hellmann-Feynman theorem
1937	Seth Neddermeyer, Carl Anderson, J.C. Street , and E.C. Stevenson discover muons using cloud chamber measurements of cosmic rays
1937	George Stibitz builds his model K, which demonstrates the feasibility of mechanizing binary math
1938	Paul Dirac presents a cosmological theory where the gravitational constant decreases slowly so that the age of the universe divided by the
1938	Konrad Zuse completes his Z1 calculating machine
1939	Richard Feynman finds the Hellmann-Feynman theorem
1939	Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman bombard uranium salts with thermal neutrons and discover barium among the reaction products
1939	Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch determine that nuclear fission is taking place in the Hahn-Strassman experiments
1939	Robert Oppenheimer and Hartland Snyder calculate the collapse of a pressure-free homogeneous fluid sphere and find that it cuts
1939	John Atanasoff begins work on his ABC computerHoward Aiken begins work on the Harvard Mark 1 with funding from IBM
1940	Zuse introduces his Z1, the first programmable calculating machine to use the binary system. It is used to solve complex engineering equations Bell Labs' George Stibitz and Samuel Williams complete the Complex Number Computer, later known as the Bell Labs Model 1. Stibittz later demonstrates the Model 1 at Dartmouth College with a terminal in New Hampshire and the Model 1 in New York
1941	Zuse completes his Z3, the first program-controlled electromechanical digital computer. In Britain , Alan Turing, M.H.A. Newman and Tommy Flowers complete work on the Colossus, the first all-electronic calculating machine. It is used during WWII to break German codes.
1942	J.L. Doob states his theorem on Gaussian-Markoff processes
1942	Hannes Alfvén predicts magnetohydrodynamic waves in plasmas
1942	Enrico Fermi makes the first controlled nuclear chain reaction
1942	Ernst Stückelberg introduces the propagator to positron theory and interprets positrons as negative energy electrons moving
1942	John Mauchly and J.Presper Eckert propose a digital electronic version of Vannevar Bush's differential analyzer.
1943	Sin-Itiro Tomonaga publishes his paper on the basic physical principles of quantum electrodynamics
1943	Howard Aiken and staff at IBM's Endicott Labs complete the Harvard Mark 1, an automatic digital sequence-controlled computer. The US government funds Mauchly and Eckert and work begins on the ENIAC (Electrical Numerical Integrator and Calculator) In Britain , the Colossus computer is completed and set to work breaking German codes Project Whirlwind, an analog flight simulator, is begun at M.I.T.
1944	Lars Onsager publishes the exact solution to the two-dimensional Ising model
1944	The first tests of ENIAC. The US government extends funding to cover research on the EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Computer), a stored program computer. The Harvard Mark I, designed and built by Howard Aiken and his team of engineers, becomes operational.
1945	The ENIAC is up and running. Zuse completes his Z4 The first computer "bug" is found in the Harvard Mark I by Grace Murray Hopper. It is a moth which got into one of the relays and caused it to fail. Vannevar Bush's prophetic essay, As We May Think, is published in the Atlantic Monthly.
1946	The public gets its first glimpse of the ENIAC in Philadelphia on Valentines Day Herman Goldstine invents flowcharts
1947	Willis Lamb and Robert Retheford measure the Lamb-Retheford shift
1947	Cecil Powell, C.M.G. Lattes, and G.P.S. Occhialini discover the pi-meson by studying cosmic ray tracks
1947	Richard Feynman presents his propagator approach to quantum electrodynamics
1947	The transistor is invented by William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain at Bell Labs Howard Aiken and his team finish work on the Harvard Mark II The ENIAC is moved to Aberdeen Proving Grounds Maurice V. Wilkes begins work on the EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Computer) at Cambridge University
1948	Hendrik Casimir predicts a rudimentary attractive Casimir force on a parallel plate capacitor
1948	Ralph Alpher, Hans Bethe, and George Gamow examine element synthesis in a rapidly expanding and cooling universe and suggest that
1948	Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Fred Hoyle propose steady state cosmologies based on the perfect cosmological principle
1948	The Manchester Mark 1 is operational IBM unveils the SSEC, the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator Shockley, Bardeen and Bratain patent the transistor
1949	The EDSAC is completed Eckert & Mauchly's company completes the BINAC computer for Northrup Aviation An Wang develops magnetic core memory The Whirlwind computer, the first real-time computer, is developed by Jay Forrester and his team at MIT J.Lyons and Company, a British catering firm develops the first business computer, the LEO (Lyons Electronic Office), as a result of research which they funded at Cambridge
1950	Turing completes the ACE, considered by many to be the first programmable digital computer, at Britain 's National Physics Laboratory Turing publishes his Touring Test for determining machine intelligence Assembly language developed Other computers of 1950: UNIVAC 1101 ADVIAC IBM 607 SEAC (National Bureau of Standards)
1951	Martin Deutsch discovers positronium
1951	William McCrea shows that the steady state C-field can be accommodated within general relativity by interpreting it as a
1951	William Shockley invents the junction transistor. Reverse-engineered alien technology from Roswell ? Inquiring minds want to know. The first UNIVAC 1 computer, developed under the leadership of Grace Murray Hopper, is delivered to the US Census Bureau Jay Forrester files a patent for matrix core memory. The Whirlwind computer begins operations at M.I.T IEEE Computer Society founded A British catering firm, Lyons & Company, develops the first business computer, the Lyons Electronic Office (LEO) , based on research which they funded at Cambridge University . David Caminer becomes the world's first corporate systems analyst. Other Computers of 1951: Fairchild Computer General Electric 100 ERMA NBS SWAC (Sealed With A Kiss?) Burroughs Lab Calculator
1952	Jay Forester develops magnetic memory at M.I.T. The EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) is completed at Moore School by Mauchly, Eckert and Von Neumann Grace Murray Hopper develops A-O, the first program compiler A Univac I computer accurately predicts the outcome of the US presidential election, bringing computers to the attention of the general public, The IAN computer begins operation at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princton Univ. A core memory module is added to the ENIAC Other Computers of 1952: ORDVAC EDVAC ILLIAC ( Univ. of Illinois ) And of course, someone had to come up with the MANIAC Harvard Mark IV Elcom 100 IAS National 102 IBM 701
1953	R. Wilson observes Delbrück scattering of 1.33 MeV gamma-rays by the electric fields of lead nuclei
1953	Sperry Rand buys the patents to the UNIVAC and begins to market the UNIVAC 1103 The IBM 650, aka the Magnetic Drum Calculator, is introduced. It is the first mass-produced computer Computers of 1953: MIT Whirlwind II NCR 107 IBM 604 IBM 701 UNIVAC 1102 RAYDAK ALWAC II OARAC MINIAC And the minimally named FLAC
1954	Chen Yang and Robert Mills investigate a theory of hadronic isospin by demanding local gauge invariance under isotopic spin space
1954	Gordon Teal develops transistors based on silicon Texas Instruments begins commercial production of transistors Other computers of `1954: The acronyms start to get a little silly... JOHNNIAC (Rand) DYSEAC ORDFIAC LEPRECHAUN ( Bell Labs) Mellon Institute Digital Computer Circle Electro Data Datatron MODAC 404 WISC TIM II
1955	Owen Chamberlain, Emilio Segrè, Clyde Wiegand, and Thomas Ypsilantis discover the antiproton
1955	The ENIAC computer is decommissioned and shut down. Other computers of 1955: Monorobot III IBM 702 RCA BIZMAC NORC Technitral 180 PENNSTAC MIDAC ALWAC III E Elcom 125
1956	Frederick Reines and Clyde Cowan detect antineutrinos
1956	Chen Yang and Tsung Lee propose parity violation by the weak force
1956	Chien Shiung Wu discovers parity violation by the weak force in decaying cobalt
1956	R. Hanbury-Brown and R.Q. Twiss complete the correlation interferometer
1956	IBM builds the first hard drive. It contains fifty 24 inch disks, has a capacity of 5 MB and costs over US$1,000,000 The Nobel Prize in physics is awarded to John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley for their work on the transistor. The first transistorized computer, the TX-O (Transistorized Experimental computer), is completed at M.I.T.
1957	John Wheeler discusses the breakdown of classical general relativity near singularities and the need for quantum gravity
1957	A.S. Kompaneets derives his Compton scattering Fokker-Planck equation
1957	John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and Robert Schrieffer develop the BCS theory of superconductivity
1957	Gerhart Lüders proves the CPT theorem
1957	Richard Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, Robert Marshak, and Ennackel Sudarshan propose a V-A Lagrangian for weak interactions
1957	IBM introduces RAMAC, a memory storage device based on rotating disks. It is the first hard disk storage. The FORTRAN programmming language is developed by John Backus, an engineer at IBM. The Atlas Guidance Computer, one of the first transistor computers, is used to control the launch of the Atlas missile. The Musasino-1 computer is developed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Company. It is based on the principles of parametric excitation developed by Eiji Goto in 1954. A command in Basic programming will later be named after him.
1958	Rudolf Mössbauer finds the Mössbauer crystal recoil effect
1958	Marcus Sparnaay experimentally confirms the Casimir effect
1958	Commercial transistor computers make their first appearance The UNIVAC Solid State 80 and the Philco S-2000 are introduced, beginning the second generation of electronic computers The ALGOL 58 programing language is developed Jack StClair Kilby and Robert Noyce of Texas Instruments develop the first integrated circuit (IC) or chip, which is a collection of miniature transistors
1959	Yakir Aharonov and David Bohm predict the Aharonov-Bohm effect
1959	This year marks the beginning of the second generation of computers - those which use transistors rather than tubes IBM announces the IBM 1401 computer RCA introduces the 501 computer. It is supplied with the new COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language) programming language The Harvard Mark 1 is shut down Both Fairchild Semiconductor and Texas Instruments announce the independent development of the integrated circuit (IC) Fairchild Semiconductor files a patent for the planar process for manufacturing transistors which makes commercial production of transistors possible. Robert Noyce of Fairchild builds an integrated circuit based on silicon, with metal conductors, transistors and resistors John McCarthy develops the programming language LISP Japan 's NEC Corporation introduces their first commercial transistor computer, the NEAC 2201 Xerox introduces the first commercial copy machine General Electric introduces the GE ERMA, the first machine to process checks encoded with magnetic ink characters
1960	Robert Pound and Glen Rebka test the gravitational redshift predicted by the equivalence principle to approximately 1%
1960	R.G. Chambers experimentally confirms the Aharonov-Bohm effect
1960	IBM introduces the IBM 360, developed by Gene Amdahl Ken Olsen, founder of DEC, introduces the PDP-1, the first computer with a keyboard and a monitor. It is priced at US$120,000 DEC introduces the PDP-8, the first mass produced minicomputer at the unheard-of low price of $20.0000 The Algol 60 programming language is developed   Remington Rand introduces the Livermore Advanced Research Computer (LARC) for use in scientific research. It uses 60,000 transistors
1961	Murray Gell-Mann and Yuval Ne'eman discover the Eightfold Way patterns---SU(3) group
1961	Jeffery Goldstone considers the breaking of global phase symmetry
1961	Robert Dicke argues that carbon-based life can only arise when the Dirac large numbers hypothesis is true because this is when burning
1961	Fairchild releases the first commercially produced integrated circuit. MIT's Fernando Corbato develops a way for computer users to share computer time The first robotic manufacturing device is patented by Georg C. Devol. It is used to automate manufacturing TV tubes. IBM unveils the 7030 computer which is 30 times faster than its predecessor, the 704. The race for speed and power is on.
1962	Robert Dicke, Peter Roll, and R. Krotkov use a torsion fiber balance to test the weak equivalence principle to 2 parts in 100 billion
1962	Leon Lederman shows that the electron neutrino is distinct from the muon neutrino
1962	Ivan Sutherland creates a graphics system called Sketchpad. Teletype introduces its Model 33 keyboard and punched-tape terminal which is used for input-output on early microcomputers IBM introduces magnetic disk storage for computers The first video game is developed by grad student Steve Russell at MIT The Atlas, the world's most powerful computer, is launched in Britain . Joseph Weizenbaum develops Eliza, a computer program that simulates the responses of a psychiatrist.
1963	Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig propose the quark/aces model
1963	Roy Kerr solves the Einstein vacuum field equations for uncharged rotating systems
1963	Fred Hoyle and Jayant Narlikar show that the steady state theory can explain the isotropy of the universe because deviations from
1963	Douglas Engelbart receives a patent on the mouse pointing device for computers Lofti Zadeh begins work on fuzzy logic at UC Berkeley
1964	Irwin Shapiro predicts a gravitational time delay of radiation travel as a test of general relativity
1964	Peter Higgs considers the breaking of local phase symmetry
1964	J.S. Bell shows that all local hidden variable theories must satisfy Bell 's inequality
1964	Val Fitch and James Cronin observe CP violation by the weak force in the decay of K mesons
1964	Roger Penrose proves that an imploding star will necessarily produce a singularity once it has formed an event horizon
1964	Fred Hoyle and Roger Tayler point out that the primordial helium abundance depends on the number of neutrinos
1964	Douglas Englebart develops a working mouse. Gordon Moore suggests that integrated circuits would double in complexity every year. This later becomes known as Moore 's Law. The programming language, Basic (Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), is developed by John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz at Dartmouth College IBM's SABRE airline reservation system is implemented Control Data Corporation introduces the first supercomputer, the CDC6600, developed by Seymour Cray. First fully automated, computer-controlled factory is inaugurated by Sara Lee
1965	Joseph Weber puts the first Weber bar gravitational wave detector into operation
1965	Joseph Weber puts the first Weber bar gravitational wave detector into operation
1965	Joseph Weber puts the first Weber bar gravitational wave detector into operation
1965	Ezra Newman, E. Couch, K. Chinnapared, A. Exton, A. Prakash, and Robert Torrence solve the Einstein-Maxwell field equations for
1965	Martin Rees and Dennis Sciama analyze quasar source count data and discover that the quasar density increases with redshift
1965	Edward Harrison resolves Olbers' paradox by noting the finite lifetime of stars
1965	DEC introduces the PDP-8, the first mini-computer. It is priced at the then-unheard of bargain price of US$18,500
1966	Stephen Hawking and George Ellis show that any plausible general relativistic cosmology is singular
1966	Jim Peebles shows that the hot Big Bang predicts the correct helium abundance
1966	Steven Gray founds the Amateur Computer Society, and begins publishing the ACS Newsletter. This is considered by some to be the birthdate of personal computing IBM introduces the first disk storage system, the IBM RAMAC 305. It holds 5 MB of data on 50 2-foot wide platters.
1967	Steven Weinberg puts forth his electroweak model of leptons
1967	Andrey Sakharov presents the requirements for a baryon-antibaryon asymmetry in the universe
1967	John Bahcall, Wal Sargent, and Maarten Schmidt measure the fine-structure splitting of spectral lines in 3C191 and thereby show that
1967	The change from magnetic core memory to semiconductor memory begins The LOGO programming language is developed IBM develops the first floppy disk Jack Kilby, John Merryman and James VanTassel develop the first four-function hand-held calculator
1968	Irwin Shapiro presents the first detection of the Shapiro delay
1968	Kenneth Nordtvedt studies a possible violation of the weak equivalence principle for self-gravitating bodies and proposes a new test of the weak equivalence principle based on observing the relative motion of the Earth and Moon in the Sun's gravitational field
1968	Irwin Shapiro presents the first detection of the Shapiro delay
1968	Kenneth Nordtvedt studies a possible violation of the weak equivalence principle for self-gravitating bodies and proposes a new test of the weak equivalence principle based on observing the relative motion of the Earth and Moon in the Sun's gravitational field
1968	Irwin Shapiro presents the first detection of the Shapiro delay
1968	Kenneth Nordtvedt studies a possible violation of the weak equivalence principle for self-gravitating bodies and proposes a new test of the weak equivalence principle based on observing the relative motion of the Earth and Moon in the Sun's gravitational field
1968	Brandon Carter uses Hamilton-Jacobi theory to derive first-order equations of motion for a charged particle moving in the external
1968	Brandon Carter speculates that perhaps the fundamental constants of nature must lie within a restricted range to allow the emergence
1968	Douglas Engelbart, of the Stanford Research Institute, demonstrates his system of keyboard, keypad, mouse, and windows at the Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco
1969	J.C. Clauser, M. Horne, A. Shimony, and R. Holt propose a polarization correlation test of Bell 's inequality
1969	Roger Penrose discusses the Penrose process for the extraction of the spin energy from a Kerr black hole
1969	Roger Penrose proposes the cosmic censorship hypothesis
1969	Charles Misner formally presents the Big Bang horizon problem
1969	Robert Dicke formally presents the Big Bang flatness problem
1969	Dennis Ritchie and Kenneth Thompson begin work on the UNIX operating system at Bell Labs Intel announces a 1 KB RAM chip, which has a significantly larger capacity than any previously produced memory chip. William Gates and Paul Allen, calling themselves the "Lakeside Programming Group" sign an agreement with Computer Center Corporation to report bugs in PDP-10 software, in exchange for computer time. At Xerox's research facility in Webster , New York , Gary Starkweather demonstrates the use of a laser beam with the xerography process to create a laser printer
1970	Sheldon Glashow, John Iliopoulos, and Luciano Maiani propose the charm quark
1970	Bell Labs introduces UNIX The first Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) is installed Gilbert Hyatt files the first basic patent on the microprocessor The floppy disk is introduced. The daisywheel printer is introduced
1971	Gerard 't Hooft shows that the Glashow-Salam-Weinberg electroweak model can be renormalized
1971	Identification of Cygnus X-1/HDE 226868 as a binary black hole candidate system
1971	The first mass-produced microprocessor, the Intel 4004 processor, developed by Ted Hoff, is introduced. It can process four bits of data simultaneously at a rate 60,000 instructions per second and has its own arithmetic logic unit Nolan Bushnell invents the videogame "Pong". It is wildly popular and makes him, in addition to a lot of money, the father of videogames, The Kenback Corporation releases the Kenback-1, the first microcomputer kit, designed by John V. Blankenbaker. Intel creates the 1103 chip, the first generally available DRAM memory chip Nicklaus Wirth develops PASCAL, a structured programming language The programming language FORTH is developed Texas Instruments produces the first pocket calculator
1972	Douglas Osheroff, Robert Richardson, and David Lee discover that helium-3 can become a superfluid
1972	S. Freedman and J.C. Clauser perform the first polarization correlation test of Bell 's inequality
1972	Stephen Hawking proves that the area of a classical black hole's event horizon cannot decrease
1972	James Bardeen, Brandon Carter, and Stephen Hawking propose four laws of black hole mechanics in analogy with the
1972	Jacob Bekenstein suggests that black holes have an entropy proportional to their surface area due to information loss effects
1972	The Intel 8008 processor is introduced The C programming language is developed at Bell Labs by Dennis Ritchie. It is called C because the previous version was called B. Real creative guys, those programmers... Hand-held calculators become popular, rendering the slide rule instantly obsolete. Xerox Parc's Learning Research Group develops the Smalltalk programming language. Alain Colmerauer develops the Porlog language at University of Marseilles DEC introduces the PDP 11/45 Wang introduces a word processing system Liquid-crystal displays are introduced
1973	David Politzer proposes the asymptotic freedom of quarks
1973	Edward Tryon proposes that the universe may be a large scale quantum mechanical vacuum fluctuation where positive mass-energy
1973	Steve Wozniak begins to build "Blue Boxes", tone generators to make free long-distance calls, and sells them in his dorm at Berkeley Xerox Parc develops an experimental computer called Alto that uses Douglas Englebart's new mouse and features a Graphical User Interface. Unfortunately, they see no future in the personal computer. Alan Kay also develops a forerunner of the PC that he calls an "office computer". A federal judges invalidates Eckert and Mauchly's ENIAC patent and recognizes John V. Atanasoff as the inventor of the modern electronic computer.
1974	Kenneth Wilson develops the renormalization group technique for treating phase transitions
1974	Burton Richter and Samuel Ting discover the psi meson implying the existence of the charm quark
1974	Stephen Hawking applies quantum field theory to black hole spacetimes and shows that black holes will radiate particles with
1974	Robert Wagoner, William Fowler, and Fred Hoyle show that the hot Big Bang predicts the correct deuterium and lithium abundances
1974	The Intel 8080 processor is introduced - it becomes the basis for the first personal computers Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak start building computers in the Jobs' family garage. An article in Radio Electronics provides plans for building a "personal minicomputer" called the Mark 8. A chess-playing computer has its first match in Stockholm
1975	Martin Perl discovers the tauon
1975	Ed Roberts, considered the father of the personal computer, designs the Altair 8800. It is produced by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS). Introduced in Popular Electronics magazine as a kit for $397, it becomes an overnight success. Two young hacker geeks, William Gates and Paul Allen offer to build a BASIC compiler for MITS. This is the start of what will become Microsoft Two other young hacker geeks, Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniac build a computer in Steve's parents garage. They call it the Apple. The first PC, the Altair 8800, is introduced in kit form and is featured in an article in Popular Electronics magazine. The response for orders is unexpectedly overwhelming. The Zilog Z-80 computer is introduced. It has 8500 transistors and a clock speed of 2.5 MMz MOS Technologies introduces the 6502 processor, selling for around $25. Jobs and Wozniak use it in the Apple II. It will later be used in the Commodore PET, Commodore 64 and early Atari computers. IBM introduces the first laser printer Fredrick Brooks publishes the theory that adding more people to a project which is late only makes it later. The second personal computer, the IMSAI is introduced. Like the Altair, it lacks both keyboard and monitor and information is entered by switches. Unlike the Altair, it is targeted at businesses rather than hobbyists. The price for the kit is $450.
1976	Robert Vessot and Martin Levine use a hydrogen maser clock on a Scout D rocket to test the gravitational redshift predicted by the equivalence principle to approximately 0.007%
1976	Robert Vessot and Martin Levine use a hydrogen maser clock on a Scout D rocket to test the gravitational redshift predicted by the equivalence principle to approximately 0.007%
1976	Robert Vessot and Martin Levine use a hydrogen maser clock on a Scout D rocket to test the gravitational redshift predicted by the equivalence principle to approximately 0.007%
1976	A.I. Shlyakhter uses samarium ratios from the prehistoric natural fission reactor in Gabon to show that some laws of physics have
1976	The CRAY 1 supercomputer is introduced   The next entry into the personal computer market is the SOL, named after the Editor of Popular Electronics magazine. Gary Killdall starts Digital Research and introduces the CP/M operating system. IBM develops the ink jet printer. Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak design and build the first Apple computers, the Apple 1, in the Jobs' family garage. It's not much more than a circuit board in a wooden box, but they build and sell 200 of them through Paul Terrell's Byte Shop. The price? $666.66 Stan Veit opens the Computer Mart of New York, the second computer store in the world.
1977	S.W. Herb finds the upsilon resonance implying the existence of the beauty quark
1977	Gary Steigman, David Schramm, and James Gunn examine the relation between the primordial helium abundance and number of neutrinos
1977	The Apple II computer is introduced at a trade show The TRS-80 and Commodore computers are introduced at the same show
1978	The DEC VAX 11/780 computer is introduced The concept of "office automation" is introduced with the WANG VS minicomputer system Intel introduces the 8086 chip with 29,000 transistors. Shortly after, they introduce the 8088 chip Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston write VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet The Wordstar word processing program is introduced for use on CP/M systems. It is later modified to run on DOS systems.
1979	Dennis Walsh, Robert Carswell, and Ray Weymann discover the gravitationally lensed quasar Q0957+561
1979	Dennis Walsh, Robert Carswell, and Ray Weymann discover the gravitationally lensed quasar Q0957+561
1979	Dennis Walsh, Robert Carswell, and Ray Weymann discover the gravitationally lensed quasar Q0957+561
1979	Don Bricklin and Bob Franston develop VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet program. Motorola introduces the 68000 chip which will be used in Macintosh computers Cellular telephones are first tested in Japan and Chicago
1980	Alan Guth proposes the inflationary Big Bang universe as a possible solutio
1980	IBM hires Microsoft to develop an operating system for their proposed personal computer. Gates and company develop MS-DOS and take the first steps on their way to obscene riches. By the end of the year, over 120,000 Apple computers have been sold. The ADA programming language, named after Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace, is developed by the US Department of Defense. Osborne introduces the first "portable" computer, the Osborne 1. It weighs 24 pounds and is the size of a suitcase.
1981	IBM introduces their personal computer using an operating system developed by the fledgling Microsoft Corporation The first successful portable computer, The Osborne 1, is introduced The price of technology is dropping. 256k of RAM can be had for only $1100, and a 5 MB hard disk costs $3000. 300 MB hard disks start at about $15,000 Apple introduces the ill-fated Lisa computer which lists for nearly $10,000 Intel introduces the 80286 chip with six times the computing power of the 8086 Xerox introduces a commercial version of their experimental Alto computer. It is called the Xerox Star. Computer chips are first installed in automobiles
1982	Joseph Taylor and Joel Weisberg show that the rate of energy loss from the binary pulsar PSR1913+16 agrees with that predicted by the general relativistic quadrupole formula to within 5%
1982	Joseph Taylor and Joel Weisberg show that the rate of energy loss from the binary pulsar PSR1913+16 agrees with that predicted by the general relativistic quadrupole formula to within 5%
1982	Joseph Taylor and Joel Weisberg show that the rate of energy loss from the binary pulsar PSR1913+16 agrees with that predicted by the general relativistic quadrupole formula to within 5%
1982	A. Aspect, J. Dalibard, and G. Roger perform a polarization correlation test of Bell 's inequality that rules out conspiratorial polarizer communication
1982	Sony announces the Compact Disk Mitchell Kapor designs Lotus 1-2-3 The first IBM PC "clone" is produced by Columbia Dara Products. Compaq introduces its PC "clone" John Warnock develops PostScript Two Cray-1 computers are linked together in parallel and prove to be three times as fast as a single Cray-1. This new supercomputer is called the Cray X-MP.
1983	Carlo Rubbia, Simon van der Meer, and the CERN UA-1 collaboration find the Wpm and Z0 intermediate vector bosons
1983	Microsoft announces the Windows operating system, a poor imitation of Apple's graphical user interface. It will be two years before the public sees the actual product The first "laptop" computer, the TRS-80 Model 100 IBM introduces the the PC/AT Michael Dell begins building computers in his college dorm room. The Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet program is released for the IBM PC IBM introduces the PC-XT Apple launches the ill-fated Lisa computer.
1984	Apple launches the Macintosh with a spectacular presentation at the 1984 Super Bowl games. Apple introduces its MacPaint program. Motorola introduces the 68020 chip for Apple computers. It features 250,000 transistors on a postage stamp sized chip. Microsoft releases DOS 3.0 Commodore introduces the Amiga Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) standards arte developed for interfacing computers with digital music synthesizers. Sony and Phillips jointly introduce the CD-ROM The movie The Last Starfighter is released. It uses graphics and images generated by a supercomputer. Intel introduces its 16 bit 80286 chip which greatly expands the capabilities of PC's
1985	Aldus introduces desktop publishing with its PageMaker software Intel introduces the 80386 or "386" chip with over 250,000 transistors Steve Jobs leaves Apple and starts NeXT Computer Microsoft finally releases the Windows operating system. Aldus releases Paul Brainard's Pagemaker, the first desktop publishing program.
1986	Compaq introduces the DeskPro 386, the first computer to use the 80386 chip Microsoft introduces DOS 3.3 DESQView, TopView and GEM Desktop challenge Mr.Bill's Windows operating system Sun introduces its first SPARC RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) CPU   Intel introduces the 80386 chip
1987	Alex Müller and Georg Bednorz discover high critical temperature ceramic superconductors
1987	Adobe joins the destop publishing fray with Postscript IBM introduces the OS/2 operating system Microsoft ships Windows 2.0
1988	The Year 2000 problem is first mentioned in print PERL, a programming language is developed. Steve Jobs introduces his new computer, the NeXTcube, with an object-oriented operating system
1989	The Z0 intermediate vector boson resonance width indicates three quark-lepton generations
1989	Identification of GS2023+338/V404 Cygni as a binary black hole candidate system
1989	Intel introduces the 80486 chip, the first microprocessor with over 1,000,000 transistors and a built-in math coprocessor Microsoft introduces Word for Windows Seymour Cray begins to develop the Cray 3.
1990	Microsoft ships Windows 3.0, a second-rate, Mac-lookalike operating system. Bell Labs demonstrates the first all-optical processor Hewlett-Packard and IBM announce RISC-based computers Motorola releases the 68040 chip Cray introduces the Cray Y-MP C90 with 16 processors and a speed of 16 gigaflops (love that word!)
1991	Windows 3.1 appears. It is the first relatively stable Windows operating system The JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) graphics compression format is released. QuickTime, a video compression format developed by Apple, is released. Apple, IBM and Motorola form an alliance to develop and promote the PowerPC platform.
1992	There are now about 1000 known computer viruses, up from 5 in 1988 Linux, a new PC operating system created by ðððððððððððððððð , is released. It is given away freely in the spirit of the early days of computing. It attracts a strong following of dedicated and devoted geeks.   DEC introduces the first 64 bit RISC Alpha chip
1993	Apple, IBM and Motorola announce the availablillity of the Power PC DEC introduces the Alpha AXP chip Intel announces the Pentium chip which has 3.1 million transistors and is able to perform 112 million instructions per second (MIPS) Laptop computers get CD-ROM drives The MPEG (what the hell does it stand for?) video compression format is released. This makes it feasible to broadcast video on Web sites. The first Geek Code is developed The first version of the computer game DOOM is released upon an unsuspecting world of gamers. The world will never be the same again. Apple introduces the Newton , the first successful Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). It's not so hot, but it's still better than anything else.
1994	IBM releases OS/2 Warp 3.0 Microsoft releases Windows 95
1995	Toy Story is the first full-length feature film to be completely computer generated. Sun releases the Java programming language which makes platform-independent programming possible.   Intel introduces the Pentium Pro chip with 5.5 million transistors.
1996	Microsoft introduces its lame version of a browser, Internet Explorer 3.0 DVD disks
1997	Apple releases the Macintosh OS-8 system
1998	Apple releases the iMac
2000	As a result of a problem with computers' inability to expressi dates beyond 1999, the world is thrown into chaos and reverts to a primitive state reminiscent of Road Warrior