Timeline: The History of Multimedia

Period: Apr 10, 1018 to Apr 10, 1019

Semitic alphabet in Egypt

Apr 10, 1020

Phoenician Alphabet

The Phoenician Alphabet was developed from the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, during the 15th century BC. Before then the Phoenicians wrote with a cuneiform script. The earliest known inscriptions in the Phoenician alphabet come from Byblos and date back to 1000 BC. FOUND AT http://www.omniglot.com/writing/phoenician.htm

Apr 10, 1031

Sumerian word system on clay like slabs

The earliest known records show the presence of some village people in the north of Mesopotamia around 7000 BC. The Sumerians developed a form of pictographic writing that used word pictures like bird, fish, ox or grain etc., around 4000 - 3500 BC. In 3000 BC, it developed into a cursive form of cuneiform style of writing which was a wedge shaped linear impression on a clay-like slab. FOUND ON http://www.encyclopediaofauthentichinduism.org/articles/12_early_civilizations.htm

Apr 10, 1040

Sumerian stamp seals

The seals were used to "sign" clay tablet documents with the unique seal of an individual such as the seller. The impression gave visual proof of the genuineness of the object. They could also be used on the clay "envelope" containing the receipt or letter to prove no one had tried to open it since it had left the merchant’s hand. FOUND ON http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/wsrp/educational_site/ancient_texts/cylinder_seals.shtml

Apr 10, 1060

Egyptian papyrus scrolls

Our English word "paper", is derived from the word "papyrus", an Egyptian word. At about the same time as the ancient Egyptians moved from prehistory to history by developing a written language, they discovered the need for something other than stone to write on. They found this in their papyrus plant, which symbolized ancient lower Egypt. It was light, strong, thin, durable and easy to carry.
FOUND ON http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/papyrus.htm

Apr 10, 1450

Gutenberg press

Leads to Protestant Revolution, among other things.
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable/moveable wooden or metal letters in 1436 (completed by 1440). This method of printing can be credited not only for a revolution in the production of books, but also for fostering rapid development in the sciences, arts and religion through the transmission of texts. FOUND AT http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Gutenberg.htm

Apr 10, 1517

Martin Luther nails “Ninety Five Theses” to church door in Wittenberg, Germany

On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed a list to a Catholic Church onto the door of a chapel in Wittenberg, Germany; his “Ninety-five Theses” became the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther became became disillusioned with the greed he saw within the Church, and began to lose faith that the Church would lead him to salvation. FOUND ON http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/September-October-08/On-this-Day--Martin-Luther-Nails--Ninety-five-Theses--to-Chapel-Door.html

Apr 10, 1534

First Press in Spanish America

The Spanish-American War of 1898 marked a turning point in American history. Within a few years of the war's end, the United States was a world power, exercising control or influence over islands in the Caribbean Sea, the mid-Pacific Ocean and close to the Asian mainland. The conflict has sometimes been called "The Newspaper War," largely because the influence of a sensationalist press supposedly brought on the fighting. FOUND AT http://users.humboldt.edu/jcbaker/spanwar.shtml

Apr 10, 1638

First press in what would become U.S. (Harvard College)

In 1638, Mrs. Glover set up America's first press at the Massachusetts Colony's new college, Harvard. Mrs. Glover and her husband, the Rev. Jose Glover, had sailed from England with five children, a few technicians, and a printing press. Jose Glover was a noncomforming minister who meant to provide religious books and tracts for the Colony, but he died on the ship across. So Mrs. Glover went right to work setting up the printing shop. FOUND AT http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi733.htm

Apr 10, 1644

John Milton denounces licensing of the press in Areopagitica

In 1644 the English poet and man of letters, John Milton, published the Areopagitica as an appeal to Parliament to rescind their Licensing Order of June 16th, 1643. This order was designed to bring publishing under government control by creating a number of official censors to whom authors would submit their work for approval prior to having it published. FOUND AT http://www.stlawrenceinstitute.org/vol14mit.html

Apr 10, 1665

Oxford Gazette (first English-language newspaper) in England

The Gazette was first printed in Oxford, England, as King Charles II held Court in that city sixty miles west of London in order to “avoid the Plague.” In February, 1666, the King decided that the Plague had subsided enough to take his Court back to London, and he brought the Oxford Gazette along–with issue no. 24, it became the legendary London Gazette, an official paper still published today. FOUND AT http://mitchellarchives.com/the-first-true-newspaper-in-history.htm

Apr 10, 1704

First successful American newspaper: The Boston News-Letter

America's first continuously-published newspaper, the Boston News-Letter published its first issue on April 24, 1704. John Campbell, a bookseller and postmaster of Boston, was its first editor, printing the newspaper on what was then referred to as a half-sheet. It originally appeared on a single page, printed on both sides and issued weekly. FOUND AT http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/firsts/newspaper/

Apr 10, 1741

First American magazines

The first magazine to be published in the American colonies was called The American Magazine. It began publication on February 13, 1741 in Philadelphia and covered proceedings of colonial government, in addition to moral, political and historical topics. Andrew Bedford was the publisher. The magazine lasted for three months. FOUND AT http://www.whplibrary.org/newandnoteworthy/2011/02/first_magazine_published_in_am.html

Period: Apr 10, 1783 to Apr 10, 1883