In What Year was the First Computer Invented?

The computer as we know it today is a combination of advanced technology integrated from many different sources of knowledge. It is difficult to pinpoint in what year was the first computer invented or who invented the computer. The concept of a computer has been around for a very long time. Some historians say that the abacus is an early computer concept used by the ancient Egyptians and others. The abacus is still used in many schools today. It is a simple gadget used for making arithmetic calculations.

What is a computer? A computer is a device made to perform calculations automatically without human intervention. Over the years many have invented devices to perform simple calculations as needed for their day and age. The beginning of the personal pc came about in the 1970s.

According to the Charles Babbage Institute - Center for the History of Information Technology, a 19th century mathematician named Charles Babbage invented calculating machines. Babbage's Analytical Engine of 1856 has similarities to computers of today. Babbage designed but never successful built what is believed to be the first computer in the 1840s. Read more about : Who Was Charles Babbage.

The Computer History Museum located in Silicon Valley in Mountain View, California has a large collection of items and information on computer history. Their online Timeline of Computer History begins in 1939 which lists significant events of the information age and early computers. The HP 200A Audio Oscillator and the Complex Number Calculator were completed in 1939. The Z3 computer was finished in 1941.

According to Connected Earth the first electronic computer is believed to have been built in 1943. This programmable computer called the Colossus was designed to decipher messages.

No matter in what year was the first computer invented or who receives credit for inventing the first computer, computer technology is rapidly advancing today. Many people and businesses have contributed to the computer as we know it today. Many more will contribute as the computer continues to become more user friendly and usable for an even wider variety of applications. The potential of the computer to impact every aspect of our lives is enormous. Businesses have flourished because of the computer. One can only image what technology advances will be in the next 20 years. Computer applications and programs are being taught in many schools beginning in kindergarten. The next generation will have very little idea of what life was like without computers. Instant communication and networking across the world has become quite common place.

Sources:

Who Was Charles Babbage, University of Minnesota

Timeline of Computer History, The Computer History Museum

The computer age dawns: the secret pioneers, Connected Earth