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3200 BCE
Cuneiform
The earliest known formal writing system is considered to be cuneiform, developed in ancient Mesopotamia around 3300 BCE, which involved pressing wedge-shaped marks into clay tablets to represent words sounds; it is generally accepted as the first true writing system, with Egyptian hieroglyphs emerging shortly after as another early form of writing.
Cuneiform -
Period: 3000 BCE to
History of the Internet
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858
Oldest printed text
The oldest known printed text is The Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist book from China that dates back to 868 AD. It was printed using woodblocks.
Diamond Sutra -
1436
Printing Press design started
Gutenberg began designing the printing press in 1436. He was inspired to create a machine that could produce pages of text quickly to make up for losses from a failed metal mirror business.
Printing Press -
1454
Printing Press in commercial use
The printing press allowed for the mass production of books. It made books more affordable and accessible to the general public. It contributed to the modernity of Europe during the Renaissance.
Printing Press in use -
Benjamin Franklin discovers electricity
Benjamin Franklin took a kite out during a storm to see if a key attached to the string would draw an electrical charge.
Ben Franklin Experiment -
Jacquard Loom
Joseph Marie Jacquard demonstrated in 1801 a loom that enabled unskilled workers to weave complex patterns in silk. The Jacquard Loom is controlled by a chain of multiple cards punched with holes that determine which cords of the fabric warp should be raised for each pass of the shuttle. The ability to store and automatically reproduce complex operations found wide application in textile manufacturing.
Loom -
Difference Engine
A difference engine is a mechanical calculator that uses the method of finite differences to calculate and print numerical tables. Created by Charles Babbage.
Difference Engine Blog -
Photographs
In 1826, Nicéphore Niépce first managed to fix an image that was captured with a camera, but at least 8 hours or even several days of exposure in the camera were required the earliest results were very crude. Photograph -
Morse Code
Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail developed Morse code.Morse code is a set of sounds that represent letters of the alphabet. In 1844, Morse sent the first inter-city message using Morse code, "What hath God wrought!". Morse code was later adapted for wireless radio and was used extensively in early radio communication. Morse code was also a vital form of communication during World War II.
Morse Code -
Analytical Engine
The Analytical Engine was never built, but its design was recorded. Ada Lovelace created “the first computer program” that presents a complete simultaneous view of all the successive changes in the components of the machine as the calculation progresses. The table is what computer scientists would now call an “execution trace”.
Analytical Enging photo -
Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, which allowed people to transmit sounds over a distance. Bell's telephone was the first to be patented and is considered the beginning of the modern telephone. The first call Bell made famously said "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you" into the telephone to his assistant, Thomas Watson, who was listening in another room.
Telephone -
Phonograph
A phonograph is a device that records and plays back sounds. It was invented by Thomas Edison in 1877. The phonograph was the first machine to do both. A phonograph uses a stylus or needle to follow a groove on a rotating disc or cylinder.
The stylus vibrates as it follows the groove, reproducing the sound waves stored in the groove.
The phonograph's large horn amplifies the sound.
Phonograph -
Adding Machine
The first recording, workable adding and listing machine is built patented in St. Lewis, Missouri, by William Seward Burroughs. It's a type of calculator used for performing simple arithmetical operations.
Adding Machine
