A Very Brief History of Computers

For a more detailed history, see the PDF document "Timeline of Computing History", Computer 29(10) (1996): TL1-TL34.

1832

Charles Babbage, Analytical Engine (programmable, never built);
Ada Byron Lovelace, first computer programmer

1936

Alan Turing develops what is now known as the Turing-machine model of computation.

1940

John Atanasoff & Clifford Berry: ABC electronic computer (not programmable)

1942

The Colossus computer helps the British crack German codes;
Turing works on this project

1946

John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly: ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator)
— first fully electronic programmable computer

1950

UNIVAC (descendant of ENIAC) does US census;
— first commercially marketed computer

1952

UNIVAC predicts, on live TV, that Eisenhower will win presidential election

1953

IBM 701 on sale

1975

first personal computer ( Altair ; build-it-yourself)

1977

Apple II

1981

IBM PC

1984

Macintosh

late 1980s

Internet (network of networks)

1991

World-Wide Web

1993

first major Web browser (Mosaic)

1997

17% of world population uses Internet