Timeline of computing 1950–1979

The period from 1950 to 1979 encompasses the transition from vacuum-tube mainframes to the emergence of the microprocessor and the earliest personal computers. It is generally categorized into the second generation (transistors, late 1950s–mid 1960s), third generation (integrated circuits, mid 1960s–early 1970s), and the beginning of the fourth generation (microprocessors, mid 1970s onward).

1950–1959: Vacuum Tubes and Early Transistors

• 1951: The UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer), the first commercial computer produced in the United States, is delivered to the U.S. Census Bureau. J. Lyons and Company runs the first business application on the LEO I computer in the UK.
• 1952: IBM announces the IBM 701, its first large-scale electronic computer (Defense Calculator). Grace Hopper develops the A-0 compiler, an early step toward high-level programming languages.
• 1953: The University of Manchester’s Transistor Computer becomes operational, often cited as the first transistorized computer (though not fully transistorized initially).
• 1954: IBM introduces the IBM 650, the first mass-produced computer (approx. 2,000 units). FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslation) development begins at IBM under John Backus.
• 1955: Bell Labs announces the TRADIC (Transistorized Airborne Digital Computer), the first fully transistorized computer. The SHARE user group is founded for IBM 701/704 users.
• 1956: The first hard disk drive, the IBM 350 RAMAC (Random Access Method of Accounting and Control), is shipped with the IBM 305 RAMAC system. The Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence coins the term "Artificial Intelligence."
• 1957: FORTRAN I is released for the IBM 704. Kenneth Olsen and Harlan Anderson found Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, accelerating U.S. investment in computing and ARPA formation.
• 1958: Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments demonstrates the first working integrated circuit (hybrid). Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor independently develops the monolithic integrated circuit (planar process) shortly after. The ALGOL 58 language specification is published.
• 1959: COBOL (COmmon Business-Oriented Language) development begins under the Conference on Data Systems Languages (CODASIL). The IBM 1401, a popular transistorized business computer, is announced. The term "software" is used in print by John Tukey.

1960–1969: Integrated Circuits, Time-Sharing, and Minicomputers

• 1960: ALGOL 60 is published, becoming highly influential for language design. The first COMIT (COMmand Instruction) list processing language runs on IBM 704.
• 1961: The MIT CTSS (Compatible Time-Sharing System) is demonstrated on an IBM 709, pioneering interactive time-sharing. The first industrial robot, Unimate, begins work at General Motors.
• 1962: Spacewar!, one of the first digital video games, is developed on the PDP-1 at MIT. The Atlas Computer at the University of Manchester introduces virtual memory and paging.
• 1963: DEC introduces the PDP-5, its first 12-bit computer. Ivan Sutherland develops Sketchpad at MIT Lincoln Laboratory on the TX-2, pioneering computer graphics and object-oriented concepts. ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) is standardized.
• 1964: IBM announces the System/360 family, the first computer architecture to cover a complete range of applications using compatible instruction sets and peripherals. It popularizes the 8-bit byte. BASIC (Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is created at Dartmouth College by John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz for the DTSS time-sharing system. The CDC 6600, designed by Seymour Cray, becomes the world's fastest computer (supercomputer).
• 1965: DEC launches the PDP-8, the first commercially successful minicomputer (selling for under $20,000). Gordon Moore publishes "Cramming more components onto integrated circuits" (Moore's Law). Ted Nelson coins the terms "hypertext" and "hypermedia."
• 1966: Hewlett-Packard enters the computer market with the HP 2116A. The first computer mouse prototype is built by Bill English based on Douglas Engelbart's design.
• 1967: The first version of the Simula 67 language introduces classes, objects, and inheritance (foundations of object-oriented programming). The Burroughs B5000/B5500 implements a stack architecture and hardware-managed virtual memory.
• 1968: Douglas Engelbart delivers "The Mother of All Demos" at the Fall Joint Computer Conference, demonstrating the mouse, hypertext, video conferencing, and collaborative editing (NLS system). The NATO Software Engineering Conference in Garmisch, Germany, addresses the "software crisis." Robert Dennard at IBM invents Dynamic RAM (DRAM). Intel Corporation is founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore.
• 1969: The ARPANET, precursor to the Internet, establishes its first permanent link between UCLA and Stanford Research Institute (SRI) on October 29. The first Request for Comments (RFC 1) is published. Unix development begins at Bell Labs (Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie) on a PDP-7. The CDC 7600 succeeds the 6600 as the fastest computer.

1970–1979: Microprocessors, Personal Computing, and Networking

• 1970: Intel releases the 1103, the first commercially available DRAM chip (1 Kb). The Pascal programming language is published by Niklaus Wirth.
• 1971: Intel releases the 4004, the world's first commercially available single-chip microprocessor (4-bit). The first pocket calculator using a "calculator on a chip" (Busicom LE-120A) appears. The Kenbak-1, considered by the Computer History Museum as the first personal computer, is advertised (uses discrete TTL logic, not a microprocessor). Ray Tomlinson sends the first network email on ARPANET, introducing the "@" address format.
• 1972: Intel releases the 8008 (8-bit microprocessor). The C programming language is developed by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs for Unix rewriting. The first video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, is released. Pong is released by Atari. The SQL language (initially SEQUEL) is defined by IBM researchers (Donald Chamberlin, Raymond Boyce).
• 1973: The Xerox Alto is developed at Xerox PARC. It features a graphical user interface (GUI), bitmapped display, Ethernet networking, and a mouse—pioneering the desktop metaphor. The TV Typewriter (Don Lancaster) provides plans for a cheap video terminal. The Micral N (France), based on the Intel 8008, is the first commercial non-kit microcomputer.
• 1974: Intel releases the 8080 microprocessor, widely adopted in early microcomputers. The Altair 8800 is featured on the cover of Popular Electronics (January 1975 issue), sparking the hobbyist microcomputer revolution. Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn publish "A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication," specifying TCP/IP. The Whetstone benchmark is published.
• 1975: Microsoft is founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen to develop Altair BASIC. The MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor is released (low cost, high volume). The Homebrew Computer Club holds its first meeting in Silicon Valley. The first Byte Shop opens.
• 1976: Apple Computer Company is founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne; the Apple I is released. The Cray-1 supercomputer is installed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (first vector processor supercomputer). The Zilog Z80 microprocessor is released.
• 1977: The "1977 Trinity" of mass-market, pre-assembled personal computers is released: the Commodore PET 2001, the Apple II, and the Tandy/Radio Shack TRS-80 Model I. The Digital Equipment Corporation VAX-11/780 introduces the 32-bit VAX architecture and VMS operating system. The first widely used spreadsheet concept (VisiCalc development begins).
• 1978: VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program for personal computers, is released for the Apple II by Software Arts/Personal Software, becoming the "killer app" for business adoption. The first magnetic bubble memory devices are marketed (Intel 7110). The 8086 (16-bit) microprocessor is introduced by Intel.
• 1979: The Motorola 68000 (16/32-bit) microprocessor is released. VisiCalc is ported to the Atari 800 and TRS-80. The first USENET newsgroups are established (Duke/UNC). The Compact Disc (CD) standard is finalized by Sony and Philips. The first Multi-User Dungeon (MUD1) is created by Roy Trubshaw and Richard Bartle at Essex University. Oracle (Relational Software Inc.) releases the first commercial SQL RDBMS (Oracle V2).