EVOLUTION OF

TECHNOLOGY
A Brief Review of the History of ‘Information
Technology’
In a modern context, the term ‘IT’ is commonly used
to describe computers and networks within a
business environment. It refers to their applications
in: generating, manipulating, storing, regaining,
transmitting, handling, exchanging, studying and
securing all data or information in an electronic
format. IT is also used as an umbrella term to cover:
 television;
 telecommunication equipment;
 software;
 e-commerce; and
 the Internet
THE TERM
“INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY”
The term IT did not appear until
the mid-20th century. This term
was first published in the 1958
Harvard Business Review when
authors Harold J. Leavitt and
Thomas C. Whisler said:
“the new technology does not
yet have a single established
name. We shall call it
Information Technology.”
 TIMELINE OF IMPORTANT ‘IT’ MILESTONES
The development of ‘Analytical Engine’ by English mechanical engineer and polymath Charles
1833 - 1888 Babbage and his son Henry who completed a much simpler version of the machine in 1888.

Engineer Konrad Zuse invented the Z2, the first electromechanical digital computer that used elctric
switches to drive, and relays to perform calculations. 1939

Colossus, a set of computers created between these years, became known as the world’s first
1943 - 1945 programmable electronic digital computers and were used in intercepting and deciphering encrypted
German communications from the other machine called Enigma.

Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn and Geoff Tootill have worked on the programmable computer
called Manchester Mark 1, which is developed by the Victoria University of Manchester. But the 1948 - 1949
machine became unavailable for use until 1949

The electrical engineering company Ferranti International plc created the Ferranti Mark 1, the world’s
1951 first general-purpose computer and became commercially available.

Leo I, the first computer used in processing commercial business applications, was developed by the
Lyons Tea Corporation to increase business output of this year. 1951
A BRIEF TIMELINE
OF SOME OTHER
IMPORTANT
EVENTS
The following events on the table you are about see were listed chronologically
(1835 – 2017)
YEAR EVENT

1835 • Morse Code invented by Samuel Morse

1838 • Electric Telegraph invented by Charles Wheatstone and Samuel Morse
1843 • Typewriter invented by Charles Thurber
1877 • Microphone invented by Emile Berliner
1888 • Hertz produces radio waves
1893 • Wireless communication invented by Nikola Tesla
1895 • Radio signals invented by Guglielmo Marconi
1898 • Remote control invented by Nikola Tesla
1907 • Radio amplifier invented by Lee DeForest
1919 • James Smathers develops the first electric typewriter
1923 • Electronic Television invented by Philo Farnsworth
1933 • FM radio is patented by inventor Edwin H. Armstrong
1937 • Alan Turing conceptualises the computing machine
• One of the first programmable computers, the Manchester Mark 1 designed by Frederic C. Williams, Tom
1948
Kilburn, and Geoff Tootill
YEAR EVENT
1951 • MIT’s Whirlwind becomes the first computer in the world to allow to input commands with a keyboard
• Optical fibre invented by Basil Hirschowitz, C. Wilbur Peters and Lawrence E. Curtis
1956
• The hard disk drive invented by IBM
1958 • Silicon Chip: the first integrated circuit is produced by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce
1959 • The first photocopier, the Xerox Machine enters the consumer market
1961 • Optical disc invented by David Paul Gregg
• Computer mouse invented by Douglas Engelbart
1963
• Cloud computing invented by Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider
1967 • Hypertext software invented by Andries Van Dam and Ted Nelson
• E-mail invented by Ray Tomlinson
• Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) invented by James Fergason
1971
• Floppy Disk invented by David Noble
• First commercially available microprocessor, the Intel 4004 is invented
1972 • The first video game console designed for use on TV’s is invented – the Magnavox Odyssey
• Ethernet invented by Bob Metcalfe and David Boggs
1973
• Personal computer invented by Xerox
YEAR EVENT
1976 • The inkjet digital printer is invented by Hewlett-Packard
1982 • WHOIS (pronounced ‘who is’) is released as one of the earliest domain search engines
1984 • The first laptop computer enters the commercial market
1989 • World Wide Web (the internet) invented by Sir Tim-Berners Lee
1990 • A student at McGill University in Montreal develops the first search engine named Archie
1992 • Complete I.T. founded
• Benny Landau unveils the E-Print 1000 as the world’s first digital color printing press
1993
• Xerox 914 is released as the first successful commercial plain paper copier
1996 • The Nokia 9000 Communicator is released in Finland as the first internet enabled mobile device
• Google established
1998
• PayPal is launched, enabling large scale payment via the internet
2000 • Microsoft develop the first tablet computer
• Digital Satellite Radio
2001
• Apple releases the iPod
• WordPress, an open source website content management system is launched by Mike Little and Matt
2003
Mullenweg
YEAR EVENT
2003 • LinkedIn is established
• Emergence of Web 2.0 – Humans move away from consumers of internet material to active participation
2004
• Facebook established by Mark Zuckerberg
• USB Flashdrives replace floppy disks
2005 • Google Analytics established
• YouTube is launched as a video platform
2006 • Twitter is launched to the public
• Apple Inc. debuts the iPhone
2007
• Amazon releases the Kindle, marking a new era in reading and book technology
2009 • Bitcoin is developed by unknown programmers under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto
• Apple debuts the iPad
2010
• The beginning of responsive website design
2011 • 22 nanometer computer chips enter mass production
2012 • Quad-core smartphones and tablets are released, offering faster processing power
• 14 nanometer computer chips are released
2014
• The market for smart watches reached 5 million
2015 • Apple releases the Apple Watch
YEAR EVENT

• Supercomputers reach 100 petaflops

2016
• Mobile devices overtake wired devices as a means of using the internet

2017 • 10 nanometer chips enter service

 REFERENCE

The History of Information Technology | Complete I.T.