History of Computing Quiz

Study Notes

The term "computer" was first used in 1613 to describe a person who performed calculations.
The earliest computers were humans, whose job was to perform calculations.
Calculations were specialized and expensive, requiring years of training.

Tally Sticks: An ancient device for recording numbers and quantities.
Abacus: A mechanical device for performing basic arithmetic, invented in Babylonia around 2400 B.C.
Napier's Bones: Invented in 1614, used for multiplication, division, and calculating square and cube roots.
Slide Rule: Invented in 1622, based on logarithms and used for multiplication, division, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry.
Pascaline: Invented in 1642, limited to addition and subtraction and was expensive.
Stepped Reckoner: Invented in 1672, capable of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing automatically.
Jacquard Loom: Invented in 1881, an automatic loom controlled by punched cards.
Arithmometer: Invented in 1820, the first reliable, commercially successful mechanical calculator, capable of performing the four basic arithmetic functions.
Difference Engine and Analytical Engine: Invented by Charles Babbage in 1822 and 1834 respectively. The Difference Engine was designed to tabulate polynomial functions while the Analytical Engine is considered the first mechanical computer.
Scheutzian Calculation Engine: Invented in 1843, based on Babbage's Difference Engine and the first printing calculator.

First Computer Programmer: Augusta Ada Byron, who suggested using the binary system and wrote programs for the Analytical Engine.
Tabulating Machine: Invented in 1890 for summarizing information and accounting.
Harvard Mark 1: Invented in 1943, the first electro-mechanical computer.
Z1: Created by Konrad Zuse from 1936 to 1938, the first programmable computer, using punch tape for input and output.
Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC): Invented between 1939 and 1942, the first electronic digital computing device.
ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer): Completed in 1946, the first electronic general-purpose computer, developed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
UNIVAC 1: The first commercial computer, designed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.