A timeline of computer history

All computers are defined by their ability to input, store, process, and output data

From wooden machines to wearable tech, computers have changed a lot in appearance, but they all still perform the same essential tasks. Early computers were made of wood and metal—some were so big that they filled entire rooms just to solve simple math problems.

See a gallery of the early years of CES

This gallery showcases rare photos from the early decades of CES, featuring early personal computers and the first handheld cassette players. See how the world’s biggest tech show began and grew.

More than 2,000 years ago, a hand-powered model of the solar system called the Antikythera mechanism—the oldest example of an analog computer—could predict solar eclipses.

Today's massive data centers evolved from single-room mainframes

Punch card computers from the late 1940s were used to store and process a company's data locally before the advent of desktop computers. As the amount of data and company sizes increased alongside the miniaturization of technology, mainframes were replaced by local server rooms and external facilities with interconnected servers running cloud-based and AI software.

A historical tree of technological advancement

Starting from stone tools millions of years ago and culminating in today's cutting-edge tech, this thorough genealogy lays out how humanity has progressed in its use of tools over thousands of years. See descriptions, links to further info, and how each tech fits in the larger tree.

Silicon Valley’s history in technology can be traced back to the late 1800s

From its developments in radio, defense technology, and personal computing, Silicon Valley has been associated with innovating tech for more than a century. This animated timeline of Silicon Valley’s history helps visualize its evolution.

Explore an online gallery highlighting the importance of graphical user interfaces

Before the Macintosh, computers were primarily used in offices and required users to type complex commands to perform tasks. Apple followed the device with the LaserWriter printer, bringing graphic production to at-home artists and designers.

Explore a visual timeline of fintech’s history and growth

From the debut of the world’s first ATM in 1967, to Apple Pay launching in 2014, financial technologies have come a very long way in a relatively short historical period. A colorful visual timeline highlights some of the most important milestones along the way.

A brief history of artificial intelligence

The concept of artificial intelligence and what it may mean for humanity has evolved as computer technologies have grown increasingly powerful through the decades. Beginning with the first (massive) computers in the 1940s, scientists have sought to make the machines as intelligent as humans. But it wasn't until computing power made exponential gains have computers begun to imitate human behavior.

Explore an interactive timeline of technological inventions and social structures since 1500.

An interactive timeline of history, from beginning to middle

The history of humanity is a long, winding road, and the history of everything else is even more complex and interwoven. This interactive timeline takes users through the history of the world and includes links to related videos, blurbs, and events. Each event in history is represented by a dot, providing users with a glittering horizon filled with moments of intrigue and impact.

Tracing the evolution of mobile phones

The first cell phone was created in 1973, with a 2.4-pound handset and a battery life of about 30 minutes. Since then, pretty much everything about it has drastically changed, with more than 5 billion cellphone users across the globe (that's more than half of the world population). Learn about the evolution of the mobile phone and where the technology may go in the future with this four minute video.

CES debuted in 1967 amid a wave of miniaturization in at-home electronics

The rapid development of integrated circuits—the basis of computing power—in the 1960s catalyzed an industrial shift toward miniature devices, including pocket transistor radios, smaller TVs, and more. This first consumer electronics trade show (with a slate of 117 exhibitors and 17,000 attendees) sought to make everyday electronics accessible and portable. See a timeline of early consumer tech with photos.

The history of graphics processing units began with hardware for displaying visuals in arcade machines, but the transition to 3D graphics led to the microchips and software that power today's AI data centers.

The history of infographics: cave art to interactive visuals

When did humans first create infographics? This article and related infographics detail how artistic data representations have evolved alongside humans and other hominins. The roots of infographics can be traced back to cave paintings, such as...

Before transistors, which regulate the flow of electricity, vacuum tubes—glass tubes containing no gas that resemble light bulbs—served as the electronic switches in computers.

See a timeline of Silicon Valley's greatest innovations

Silicon Valley is home to some of the biggest innovations of the last century. From radio communicators in the 1930s, to personal computers in the 1970s, the Valley has been the center of technological innovation for decades.

The history of malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojans, and ransomware

Some of the earliest significant pieces of malware—the Creeper worm and the Elk Cloner virus—displayed silly messages to users without causing major harm. As computer science has advanced, malware has become more easily spread, incorporated social engineering to manipulate users, targeted infrastructure systems, and been used by governments for virtual espionage.

An interactive timeline of history's famous figures

The past few millennia of humankind have produced numerous figures who left their mark on culture and society in their respective era. This interactive timeline from data visualization expert Jan Willem pulls data from Wikipedia to illustrate history's most important people relative to their prominence in modern-day thought.

The Antikythera mechanism: The oldest-known analog computer

A device now considered the world's oldest computer was pulled from a shipwreck more than 120 years ago. Known as the "Antikythera Mechanism," it is now believed to have allowed precise tracking of astronomical positions, and its sophistication overturned understanding of Ancient Greek capabilities.

Apple, the tech giant renowned for products like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, started out in a garage in 1976.

Computer scientists first started trying to optimize dating using computers in the 1950s.

See the original websites for companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple

Explore archived images of homepages on websites dating all the way back to 1991.

Crypto's origins date back to 1983

While crypto feels new, it actually dates to 1983, with eCash's creation. However, a lot has happened in the crypto world over the past few years in particular—crypto's market cap surpassed $2T for the first time in 2021, for instance. A timeline of crypto's history details the events in between.

A timeline of Google's growth

As of 2025, Google will approach its third decade of existence. A period that's seen the company go from dominating the search market to the launch of one billion-user product after another, from Gmail to YouTube. This detailed timeline lays out what happened when, laying out Google's history in detail. It marks key milestones, like the introduction of Google Maps, and what year they happened.

How the internet became the World Wide Web: a visualization

The internet was officially born in 1983 and had more than 150 million global users by 1997, creating an international web of seemingly separate networks. This data visualization shows the growth of the internet from 1997 to 2021. Data in this...

Explore a visual history of the Windows operating system

Named after the windows that separate different applications, the operating system’s first version came preinstalled with Calculator, Paint, and Reversi. There was no Windows 9 to avoid compatibility issues with legacy code searching for Windows 95 and 98 files via a “windows9” query.

The first compiler to facilitate communication with computers was developed by Grace Hopper

The A-0 program linker automatically translated mathematical symbols into machine-readable binary code. Although it took two years for computer executives to get on board with the idea, the technology was foundational to future programming languages that allowed computers to understand commands written in word-based languages.

The history of China: a timeline

How long has China existed, and how and when did it evolve into its form? Explore the journey of China from empire to republic (to a republic, again) in this timeline. Archaeological evidence suggests the earliest Chinese dynasty formed at about...

An explanation of Turing machines—the foundations of digital algorithms and computers

The device reads data, overwrites or ignores it, and then moves on to the next piece of data based on a set of programmed rules. By imagining this data as zeros and ones—binary that makes up computer code—Turing machines became the theoretical models for how any algorithm could be run on a computer if the procedure could be coded into a set of digital rules.

Moore's Law came from observing exponential computing growth in the 1960s

In 1965, Gordon Moore, cofounder of Intel Corporation, observed a four-year trend of constant growth rate in computing power. Hypothesizing the trend would continue, his observation became the benchmark that the computing industry has worked to maintain for 60 years.

A creator economy timeline

Long before anyone memorized a TikTok dance, the creator economy began with regular people blogging about their personal lives. Eventually, it snowballed into the creator economy we know today. The Washington Post created an interactive timeline to help visualize how the creator economy got from point A to point B.

See a timeline of the space race

This interactive timeline chronicles the space race from its Cold War origins to the moon landing, highlighting key figures, pivotal moments, and rapid technological advancements. It combines archival photos, video, and links to related material.

The Macintosh popularized GUI and mouse navigation for personal computing

A graphical user interface that utilized windows, icons, and pull-down menus, rather than text-based commands, contributed to the device's success after its January 1984 launch. Its original sound system—capable of playing four voices—was developed after non-technical staff suggested the machine should play music.

Explore a breakdown of 18 influential Apple products

The launch of the MacBook Air in 2008 popularized the ultrabook category of laptops, while the iPad (2010) made large-screen mobile devices a technological norm. The iPhoneX (2017) introduced the notch, which has become a staple at the top of many smartphone displays.

The history of the gene: an interactive timeline

Humans didn’t need modern technology to figure out that kids tend to look like their parents. But what did humans believe about genetics before we knew about DNA or cells in general? Explore this interactive timeline to see how philosophers and scientists throughout the ages tried to explain how traits are passed from generation to generation.

Grace Hopper warned against prioritizing hardware purchases in future computing

Foreseeing the rising volume of data and the increasing demand for its processing and access, she advocated that organizations first map the total flow of information they require and then choose infrastructure to support it, rather than wastefully spending on the fastest computing technology and forcing software to compensate for unnecessary hardware or incorrect data.

How humans evolved from single-cell organisms

Humans have had a long history. 3.8 billion years in the making, to be precise. From the primordial puddle to the modern day, here's how humans have evolved from the first life.

Personal computers became more common in the late 1970s, making working from home more viable

As the internet and email became more popular in the 1990s, more infrastructure that would eventually support remote work was created. But the practice was still relatively uncommon until the COVID-19 pandemic, when white-collar workers first took to working from home en masse.

A timeline of human fossil discoveries

A key part of writing a coherent story about our origins is finding and identifying the remains of our ancestors and understanding their significance. Scientists will not always agree on identifications and opinions will change as new find are made and new ways of studying them are developed.

Ten defining moments at CES through the years

Iconic CES devices like the Apple Newton, CD player, VHS VCR, Sony PlayStation, and Oculus Rift “Crystal Cove” didn’t necessarily seem groundbreaking at the time. Here's a list of some defining moments from the annual show.

NASA purchased about 60% of all integrated circuits from 1961 to 1965

The US government adopted the new technology to support the development of the Apollo Guidance Computer, which would help astronauts fly to the moon. This drove manufacturing up and costs down, setting the stage for the modern computing era.

One of Apple's first computers sold for $375K at an auction

An operational Apple I, the first model of personal computer made by Apple, sold for $375K at an auction. The machine was first sold in 1976 and has a handwritten serial number by Steve Jobs himself. The auction, provided rare insight into the beginnings of the influential tech company.

Visualize the 5,000-year history of consumer credit in one infographic

Consumer loans for agriculture were likely first used around 3500 BCE, but modern consumer credit took many more centuries to be established. England's credit reporting system, for instance, dates back to the early 1800s when a group of English tailors began swapping information about customers who failed to settle their debts.

The origin of the World Wide Web, plus a look at its first website and web browser

Invented by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 while working at CERN—home of the world's largest particle physics laboratory—the Web was developed to facilitate the sharing of information among scientists at institutions worldwide. By the end of 1990, the first Web server was operational as a proof-of-concept on a NeXT workstation.

Your iPhone started with a Cold War secret

Silicon Valley wasn't supposed to happen. A stretch of California orchard land somehow became the place that built the modern world: chips, PCs, the internet, the smartphone, and now AI. But the real story isn't the garage myth. It's a series of contradictions hiding in plain sight.

View a timeline of 3D printing technology through 2019

The first working 3D printing device was invented in 1983 and utilized stereolithography, a process in which a laser triggers a chemical reaction that hardens liquid resin. Powder-based laser sintering technology was patented in 1987, with metal-based powders first being used for 3D printing in 1997.

Explore a timeline of advancements in American aviation

From the Wright brothers' flight of the first powered plane in 1903 near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to SpaceX's debut of the Falcon 9 rocket in 2010 with reusable boosters, this interactive shows off the technological evolution of flight, from mechanical propulsion to ballistic spaceflight. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Steve Wozniak invented the personal computer

Steve Wozniak's Apple I and Apple II computers launched the personal computer industry, influencing the future of consumer electronics. He was also awarded the National Medal of Technology and the Heinz Award in Technology, the Economy, and Employment because of his invention.

See a timeline of commercial radio history

Radio, as we know it, began in the 1910s. This FCC timeline traces the evolution of the medium over the century that followed, highlighting groundbreaking broadcasts, speeches, and technological breakthroughs.