The development of the modern day computer was the result of advances in technologies and man's need to quantify. Papyrus helped early man to record language and numbers. The abacus was one of the first counting machines..
Some of the earlier mechanical counting machines lacked the technology to make the design work. For instance, some had parts made of wood prior to metal manipulation and manufacturing. Imagine the wear on wooden gears. This history of computers site includes the names of early pioneers of math and computing and links to related sites about the History of Computers, for further study. This site would be a good Web adjunct to accompany any book on the History of Computers or Introduction to Computers. The "H" Section includes a link to the History of the Web Beginning at CERN which includes Bibliography and Related Links. Hitmill.com strives to always include related links for a broader educational experience.
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A Brief History of Computers and Networks (GoldenInk.Com)
A Chronology of Computer History (Cyberstreet.Com)
A Chronology of Personal Computers (kpolsson - islandnet.com)
A Few Quotes from Silicon Valley History
A Journey Through the History of Information Technology
Photos: History of Computing Information
Artificial Intelligence, History of
A Timeline of Computer and Internet History
ABACUS
The Abacus (Hitmill.com: Good pictures, overview, brief history, definition, counting boards, bibliography, and links for further study)
ADA
Ada was a US governmental (DoD) developed programming language. The standard was originally known as Ada83, but this is now obsolete, as it was recently "overhauled" and re-born as Ada95. This is now the preferred standard and implementation of the Ada programming language. Read more about it:
Ada Programming at U. of Mich.
Ada Programming Resources (Hitmill.com) Introduction to Ada95 (embedded.com)
Mission Critical Programming Concepts with Ada95: Introduction to the Ada Programming Language Training Class (ddci.com)
AIKEN, HOWARD HATHAWAY
Howard Hathaway Aiken and the Mark I
Howard Aiken: Makin' A Computer Wonder
Howard Hathaway Aiken, Computer Pioneer
Howard Aiken's Harvard Mark I
ALTAIR Computer
Altair 8800 (Wikipedia)
Introduction The Revolution Begins (David Bunnell)
The Altair 8800 and Ed Roberts
Altair History (onlineethics.org)
Early History of the Personal Computer (by Thayer Watkins at San Jose State University)
Brief History of the Altair (highgate.comm.sfu.ca)
The Virtual Altair Museum"
Ed Roberts Interview (virualaltair.com)
What Good is a Computer Without Software? (virtualaltair.com)
How the Personal Computer Was Born (sas.org)
Looking Back on Nearly Three Decades of Personal Computing (by Forrest M. Mims III)
Ed Roberts and the MITS Altair
How the Altair Began (by Stan Veit, the Computer Editor of Popular Electronics Magazine)
Chronology of Personal Computers 1975
Open Letter to Hobbyists from Bill Gates, February 3, 1976
PDF copy of An Open Letter To Hobbyists
Ramblings From Ed Roberts, March 1976
ANALYTICAL ENGINE
The Analytical Engine, Table of Contents
Analytical Engine/Babbage
APPLE/MACINTOSH
Apple Computer history (apple-history.com)
Steve Jobs Information Page
Woz.org
Making the Macintosh (stanford.edu)
The Apple Museum (theapplemuseum.com)
Books on Apple History
MacPicks (Mac News, Reviews, E-zines)
MacPlaces
ARPA, Forerunner of ARPANET and the Internet
ARPA: The Early Days of ARPA, Forerunner of the Internet
ATANASOFF, JOHN VINCENT
The John Vincent Atanasoff Virtual Archive
Iowa State University Department of Computer Science, birthplace of the electronic digital computer.
Atanasoff Biography (Hien Chris Do)
Washington Post Obituary
Secret of a Genius: Drive Fast and Don't Look Back
(This is an article about John Atanasoff.)
Inventors of the Modern Computer
This article from the Minining Company discusses the Atanasoff-Berry Computer,
John Vincent Atanasoff, and Clifford Berry.
ATANASOFF-BERRY COMPUTER
Reconstruction of the Atanasoff-Berry Computer
(Article from Ames Lab)
ABC Public Showings: November 1996 and October 1997
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BABBAGE, CHARLES
Charles Babbage (1791-1871 was born 26 Dec 1791, the son of a London banker. In his youth he had his own private instructor in algebra and by the time he attended Trinity College, Cambridge, he was advanced in knowledge beyond his tutors in mathematics. In 1811, he co-founded the Analytical Society to promote continental mathematics and to reform the mathematics of Newton taught at the University at that time. He worked on the calculus of functions in his twenties. After being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1816, Babbage played a role in the development of the Astronomical Society in 1820. In 1821 he invented the Difference Engine to compile mathematical tables. The Difference Engine was completed in 1832. Then he began work on a machine that could do any type of calculation, and this machine was the Analytical Engine completed about 1856. To learn more about Charles Babbage and his contributions to society, mathetics, engineering, astronomy, and more.... see the following links:
Pioneers: Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage Biographical Notes
The Babbage Pges: Biography
Babbage's Analytical Engine
Charles Babbage Institute (U. of Minn.)
Charles Babbage - Bibliographical notes (cs.vt.edu)
Picture of Charles Babbage (cs.vt.edu)
BACKUS, JOHN
Biography of John Backus Leader of the team that developed Fortran programming language
John Backus, Recipient of Alan M. Turing Award
BELL, GORDON
Gordon Bell Microsoft Bay Area Research Center; worked on design of PDP-6 at DEC, an antecedent of the PDP-10, one of the first mPs and the first time-sharing computer.
MyLifeBits Project: Vannevar Bush's 1945 Memex Vision Fulfilled (research.microsoft.com)
BOOLE, GEORGE
George Boole - Genius of Lincoln (Roger Parsons)
The Calculus of Logic by George Boole (maths.tcd.ie)
Papers by George Boole (ucc.ie - University Library County Cork, Ireland)
George Boole Invents Boolean Algebra
George Boole, Biographical Notes (st-and.ac.uk)
BRICKLIN, DANIEL (Co-Creator of VisiCalc)
Daniel Bricklin, First Spreadsheet,VisiCalc
Daniel Bricklin's Web Page
Daniel Bricklin Biography, Long Form
BUNNELL, DAVID (Altair, MITS, PC Mag., PC World, MacWorld)
The Third Culture: David Bunnell (edge.org)
Prosumer Media
Upside Tech Magazine's Downside (S.F. Chronicle)
BUSH, VANNEVAR
As We May Think (by permission of theatlantic.com)
Article of 1945 by Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush Biographical Notes (www.iath.virginia.edu)
Vannevar Bush (livinginternet.com)
BYRON, LADY AUGUSTA ADA
Ada Byron (Yale.edu, contributed by Dr. Betty Toole)
Ada's Notes Contributed by Dr. Betty Toole, Yale.Edu
The Birth of the Computer Revolution Yale.edu
Pictures of Lady Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace
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Calculator Reference, Research Page
Chronology of Computer History (cyberstreet.com)
Chronology of Personal Computers (Ken Polsson)
Computing Science, History of
Computers: From the Past to the Present
C++ Programming Language
History of the C++ Programming Language (hitmill.com)
History of C++ (cplusplus.com)
CALCULATORS
Timeline History of Calculators
CERF, VINTON G. Co-inventor of TCP/IP Protocol for the Internet
ICANN Biographical Notes about Vinton G. Cerf
Vint's Personal Home Page Read about the first 35 years of the "Internet"
How the Internet Came to Be as told by Vinton Cerf
Vinton G. Cerf (isoc.org)
Vinton G. Cerf (Wikipedia page)
Vinton Cerf on the future of e-mail (ComputerWorld: 2001 article)
From Inventing the Enterprise: Vinton G. Cerf (cio.com)
CODD, EDGAR F. Database Pioneer, Key Theorist of Databases
Edgar Codd, Database Pioneer, Dead at 79 (usatoday.com)
Edgar Codd, Key Theorist of Databases Dies at 79 in Florida
COLOSSUS
The Colossus Rebuild Project (codesandciphers.org.uk)
The Colossus Rebuild Project (project-x.org.uk)
Lorenz Ciphers and the Colossus
1940-1944 The Colossus
Colossus Electronic Programmable (to a limited extent) Computer
Colossus Computer
Computer Conservation Society
Computer Conservation Society
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DIJKSTRA, EDSGER WYBE Mathematician, Computer Scientist,
Shortest Path Algorithm, Computer Programmer, Educator
Biographical Notes: Edsger W. Dijkstra (Wipikedia.org)
Edsger Dijkstra, The shortest-path algorithm
Dijkstra's Algorith (Wikipedia.org)
E. W. Dijkstra Archive (utexas.edu)
Dijkstra's Algorith (uwa.edu.au)
GoTo Statement Considered Harmful by Edsger Dijkstra, 1968;
Article began the structured programming movement.
How Do We Tell Truths that Might Hurt? by Edsger Dijkstra, 1975:
On old problems in programming
Edsger Dijkstra on universities
Edsger Dijkstra:RIP (death notice)
DIGITAL IMAGING
Mona Lisa, Digital Image from 1965
A Brief History of Digital Imaging
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ECKERT, J. PRESPER
J. Presper Eckert Interview
The Eckert/ENIAC Collection
ENGLEBART, DOUGLAS C.
AUGMENTING HUMAN INTELLECT: A Conceptual Framework A summary report prepared by Douglas C. Englebart for the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, October 1962.
Original Computer Mouse Patent
Computer Mouse Demo (video info.)
Facts About the Invention of the Computer Mouse
The Computer Mouse
The Mousesite - a resource for exploring the history of human computer interaction beginning with the pioneering work of Douglas Engelbart and his colleagues at Stanford Research Institute in the 1960s.
ENIAC
The ENIAC Story (army.mil)
A Report on the ENAIC (army.mil)
ENAIC - The Army Sponsored Revolution (army.mil)
John W. Mauchly and the Development of the ENIAC Computer (upenn.edu)
The Eniac (about.com)
ENIAC Computer Invention (ideafinder.com)
Jean Bartik, The First ENIAC Programmer
Ethernet
Networking With Ethernet (entertainmentdesignmag.com)
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Fibonnaci Numbers
Fibonnaci Numbers Definition
Fibonnaci Numbers and the Golden Section
-F, G-
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Generation Computers
Features of each generation are discussed.
-G-
Google.Com's Computer History Links
Great Microprocessors of the Past and Present
Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century
GATES, WILLIAM H III
An Open Letter To Hobbyists, by Bill Gates
Bill Gate's Web Page at Microsoft
Bill Gates: Biog. notes and p;icture
The "Unofficial" Bill Gates page
Focus Magazine's Interview with Bill Gates
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
An Open Letter to Hobbyists - by Bill Gates, 1976 (blinkenlights.com)
William H. Gates III Before Microsoft
Bill Gates Wealth Index
GOOD, IRVING JOHN (JACK)
Roanoke Times Article about Jack Good, a memeber of the team that broke the ENIGMA code during WWII
Irving John (Jack) Good Cryptologist, statistician
GORE, AL
Al Gore's Support of the Internet
by Robert E. Kahn and Vinton G. Cerf
Gore to Get Lifetime Award for Internet
Gore Never Did Claim That He Invented the Internet
GOSLING, JAMES wrote the Java programming language From Inventing the Enterprise: James Gosling (cio.com)
James Gosling, On the Java Road
Java - James Gosling (about.com)
Graphical User Interface
Graphical User Interface
History of the Graphical User Interface
Graphical User Interface, GUI (apple-history.com)
Mac OS X
Aqua Human Interface Guidelines (developer.apple.com)
GUI Gallery
The History of Graphical User Interfaces
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Historic Computer Images (army.mil)
History of Computers Article by aleembawany.com
History of Computer Viruses and Attacks (securityfocus.com)
History of Computing (ei.cs.vt.edu)
A compiled directory of categorical links.
History of Computing: Virtual Museum of Computing (VMoC)
This site is a virtual museum which includes an eclectic collection of WWW hyperlinks connected with the history of computing and on-line computer-based exhibits.
History of the Internet (Roads and Crossroads of Internet History (Gregory Gromov's site)
History of the Web Beginning at CERN
HOPPER, GRACE
Grace Hopper
The Wit and Wisdom of Grace Hopper
Inventing the Enterprise: Grace Murray Hopper (cio.com)
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard, History -- Founding Fathers
The Making of Hewlitt-Packard
Dave Packard's 11 Simple Rules
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IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
Internet History: Roads and Crossroads of Internet History (Gregory Gromov)
IBM
IBM Vintage Personal Computers
IEEE
IEEE/ISTO Industry Standards and Technology Organization
IEEE Computer Society Home Portal
IEEE Computer Society History of Computing
IEEE Annals of Computer History
IEEE 802.11b - Wireless Ethernet Article by Al Petrick, Vice Chairman of the IEEE 802.11 Standards Committee
Internet Explorer
The History of Internet Explorer
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JACQUARD, JOSEPH-MARIE
Book: Jacquard's Web: How a Hand Loom Led to the Birth of the Information Age by James Essinger. Read about this book at Amazon.com
Jacquard Loom
The Jacquard Loom (columbia.edu)
Jacquard's Punched Card
Industrial Revolution: Timeline of Textile Machinery
Biographical Note on Joseph-Marie Jacquard
Biography of Joseph-Marie Jacquard
JOBS, STEVE PAUL
Steve Paul Jobs Bio.
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KAHN, ROBERT E (co-inventor of TCP/IP Technology for Internet)
Robert E. Kahn Biographical Notes
Robert E. Kahn Awarded National Medal of Technology
KING, ADA BYRON
(See BYRON, AUGUSTA ADA)
KLEINROCK, LEONARD
Leonard Kleinrock Biography: The Birth of the Internet (ucla.edu)
Leonard Kleinrock was the inventor of the Internet technology known as packet-switching.
Leonard Kleinrock's home page
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LEIBNITZ, GOTFRIED von
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz (1646-1716)
LICKLIDER, J.C.R.
Man-Computer Symbiosis by J.C.R. Licklider (PDF file, Memex.org)
The Computer as a Communication Device (PDF file, Memex.org)
by J.C.R. Licklider and Robert Taylor (of ARPA)
JCR Licklider (columbia.edu)
J.C.R. Licklider Biography (thocp.net)
J.C.R. Licklider (livinginternet.com)
Six degrees of J.C.R. Licklider traces computer evolution (St.Louis Post Dispatch/wustl.edu)
J.C.R. Licklider in Memoriam (MIT.edu)
The Dream Machine: J.C.R. Licklider and the Revolution That Made Computing Personal (book, by M. Mitchell Waldrop -- see Amazon.com book site)
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Mind Machine Museum (SFSU.edu)
MAUCHLY, JOHN W.
John W. Mauchly and the Development of the ENIAC Computer
METCALF, ROBERT M. Ethernet
From Inventing the Enterprise: Robert M. Metcalf (cio.com)
Ethernet (acm.org)
Ethernet PDF Paper: IEEE 802.3
Mouse
(See also: Englebart, Douglas)
The Mouse Site
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NELSON, TED
Project Xanadu
The original hypertext project...
Ted Nelson home page
NYGAARD, KRISTEN
Notes About Kristen Nygaard
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Past Notable Women of Computing and Mathematics
PC Computers, Pre-IBM
Pioneers (Wired Magazine's List of Pioneers of Computing)
Pioneers of Computing
PASCAL, BLAISE
Blaise Pascal Quotes to Inspire You
Blaise Pascal Biography
PDP Computers
PDP11's on the Bribane Project for Totalisators by Brian Conlan
What is a PDP? (Ken Olson/DEC)
PDP-8 (pdp8.net)
PDP-11 History (telnet.hu)
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-R-
RITCHIE, DENNIS
Dennis Ritchie Home Page
Interview with Dennis M. RitchieDennis M. Ritchie timelineDennis M. Ritchie: From Inventing the Enterprise
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Shareware, History of
Silicon Valley History (netvalley.com)
Smithsonian Institute's Computer History Collection
Shortest Path Algorith
See Dijkstra, Edsger
STIBITZ, GEORGE R.
George R. Stibitz, Computer Inventor (1904-1995)
George R. Stibitz in Inventors Hall of Fame
George R. Stibitz Curriculum Vitae
George R. Stibitz, Biography
George R. Stibitz, 1904-1995
SYSTEM R
System R (mcjones.org)
System R led to the introduction of the SQL language
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Tech. History (si.edu)
The Charles Babbage Institute
This is located at the University of Minnesota
Many computer subjects including the history of computers...
The Evolution of the Computer
The History of Shareware
The IEEE Annals of the History of Computing
The Revolutionaries
The Smithsonian Computer History and Information Technology
Timeline: The History of Computers (Maxmon.com)
Well done! Events influencing the history and development of computing.
Tools for Thought (Howard Rheingold)
TOTALISATORS
History of Totalisators by Brian Conlon.
TURING, ALAN
The Alan Turing Home Page
Alan Mathison Turing (1912-1954)
Alan Turing and COLOSSUS
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UNIVAC COMPUTER
Univac Memories (fourmilab.ch)
Book: The Unsung Heroes of the PC Age
-V-
Virtual Museum of Computing
Viruses: History of Computer Viruses
Wearable Computing at media.MIT.edu
What was the first computer and who built it?"
Wired Magazine:Browse by Person
This is a list not to be missed. Enjoy.
von NEUMANN, JOHN LOUIS
John Lewis von Neumann (1903-1957)
John von Neumann
(Click on hardware in the background of this next reference)
von Neumann Digital Computer
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WANG, AN
Dr. An Wang (Magnetic Core Memory) (mit.edu)
An Wang, Hall of Fame Inventor Profile
Book: Dr. an Wang Computer Pioneer
The Doctor and His Calculators
About Wang
An Wang: The Core of the Computer Era
Wang system photos
Photo 1968 Wang Calculator
Wang 363E Calculator
Wang BASIC vs. Microsoft BASIC
WILKES, MAURICE VINCENT
Maurice Vincent Wilkes (vt.edu)
Maurice Vincent Wilkes, Brief Biography
WIRTH, NIKLAUS
Niklaus Wirth (kzoo.edu)
Niklaus Wirth was the inventor of Pascal, and other languages.
WOZNIAK, STEVEN
Steven Wozniak Bio. (cs.vt.edu)
Official Website of the "WOZ"
Apple Computer history
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XANADU
Project Xanadu
The original hypertext project...
Xanadu Australia: Problem Definition
Xanadu Secrets Become Udanax Open-Source (1999)
Marc Steigler's 1989 Article Published in the February 1990 Edition of Unix Review is about Hypertext Publishing
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ZUSE, KONRAD
Konrad Zuse
(Use the search engine at this next site to put in the name of Konrad Zuse, in order to navigate to this topic.)
A photograph of Konrad Zuse
Konrad Zuse's Z3 Computer
Konrad Zuse And His Computers
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