This page of the Old Calculator Museum is a timeline of known historical points, people, milestones,
and other time-related material relating to calculating machine technology.
Also included are some benchmark historical points relating to the early
development of "individual computing", with listings of small computers of the late
1950's into the late 1960's, as well as some early timeshared computer systems debuting in the 1960s.
These early computer systems that providing the ability of a person to be "one-on-one" with the
computer provided some of the earliest opportunities for individual students,
scientists, engineers, and business people to have direct access to sophisticated computing
resources for the first time.
At nearly the same time (early 1960's) the the arrival of single-user electronic
calculating machines provided access to fast, easy-to-use personal calculating capabilities that sat on their desktop.
These early calculators were first used engineering, science, and accounting firms, but as the technology
improved, reducing the cost of the devices, it was not much later that electronic calculators appeared in
small business and educational environments, and even in the home office.
Listings for watershed events in the world of electronics technology are also included as context
for the development of electronic calculators, small computers and timesharing systems.
Notable events in the development of what became the microprocessor and later, microcomputer systems
are presented because the development of electronic calculator technology was the driving force behind
the incremental improvements in electronic technology that first resulted in integrated circuits taking
the place of transistors in electronic calculators, and eventually leading to the development of the central
processing unit (CPU) of a computer on a single integrated circuit chip, which, in an interesting twist,
was first commercially used in a consumer device to create an electronic calculator whose "brains" consisted
of a simple computer (CPU) on a chip.
It is worthy to note that most of these "personal" computing developments were made long
before the the "PC"s that we know today as the IBM PC (incorrectly called the first
"Personal Computer" despite its name) and Apple Macintosh came to market.
these computers were the beginnings of the true utility of a personal computer, which, over
time, have evolved into the personal computing platforms of choice for people and business
all over the world today.
This document was created from a huge number of sources that are too vast
and gathered over such a long period of time to begin to account for.
Some of the information here was gleaned from
various online resources such as
Wikipedia and
BitSavers.
A large amount of information was also gathered from vintage periodicals and
newspapers, as well as product flyers, product manuals, marketing materials,
and documentation from calculator manufacturers(such as annual reports and
internal/external publications) that the museum has accumulated
over the years.
Some information is also gathered through interviews with the people involved in the projects
to develop various calculating and computing devices at the time. The museum curator has had
the incredible luck and privilege of meeting (in person, over the phone, or through digital media)
with some of the players in the electronic calculator industry during the formative period
of the device. Through these contacts, a tremendous wealth of information was gathered over
the course of many years.
Some content in this document is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate
in all aspects, as some of the information is based on the memories of
people "who were there", whose memories have inevitably faded over the years.
Best effort has been made to obtain alternate sources of information
to corroborate such memories before they are published in this document. Despite best efforts
the foggy memories of times long past can misplace events and developments in time.
There are cases where the definition of terms can be interpreted
in different ways, such as when a product is "introduced" versus
when it is actually available for sale. In the electronics
and computing industry, a product introduction does not necessarily mean
that the product can be purchased and delivered at the time of introduction.
Effort is made in this document to provide introduction dates, as well as
dates when a product was actually available for purchase. Some companies
at the time (and is still a common practice today) made a point of
introducing a product as much as 18 months before the product was actually
available for purchase, with interested potential customers having to wait for
a calculator that they may have already ordered based on marketing information,
and perhaps even paid some money down toward the purchase, before the machine was delivered.
All efforts are made to assure this document is as accurate as
possible. Updates are promptly made when sources of information
converge to provide a more accurate dating of a given event.
If the reader identifies factual, spelling, punctuation, duplication, ordering, or
formatting errors, please let the curator know by clicking the Email button at
the top of this page. Reported errors will promptly be investigated and
corrected. Likewise, if you are aware of calculating machine-related historical events,
especially events that have specific dates associated with them, please let us know so
we can research and authenticate the information and publish it here. Credit can be
given for any contributions of information that is published if desired.
All input is appreciated.
1646
1716
1799
Oct
|
Birth of Hisashige Tanaka, founder of precursors to Toshiba [18-Oct]
|
1811
Oct
|
Birth of Isaac Merritt Singer, future founder of I.M. Singer & Co. (later, Singer Co.)
|
1822
|
Kienzle Apparate, GmbH founded in Germany, manufacturing clocks and time recorders
|
1838
Apr
|
Birth of Frank S. Baldwin, prolific and revolutionary mechanical calculating machine designer [10-Apr]
|
1845
Aug
|
Birth of Willgodt T. Odhner in St. Petersburg, Russia, creator of the first mass-marketed European calculating machine
|
>>>
|
using the Pinwheel mechanism [10-Aug]
|
1851
|
Isaac Merritt Singer forms I.M. Singer & Company, manufacturing sewing machines
|
|
Daikichi Tanaka, apprentice of Hisashige Tanaka, establishes Tanaka Engineering Works (Toshiba precursor)
|
1857
Jan
|
Birth of William S. Burroughs I, founder of American Arithmometer Co. (Precursor to Burroughs Corp.) [28-Jan]
|
1860
Feb
|
Birth of Herman Hollerith, founder of Tabulating Machine Co.; the genesis of International Business Machines (IBM) [29-Feb]
|
1863
Sep
|
Singer Manufacturing Co. (formerly I.M. Singer & Co.) formally incorporated [1-Sep]
|
1871
|
Grimme, Natalis & Co. founded in Braunschweig, Germany, manufacturing home appliances (later creates
calculating machine brand "Brunsviga")
|
1872
Apr
|
Passing of Frank S. Baldwin, prolific mechanical calculating machine designer [8-Apr]
|
1873
1875
|
Hisashige Tanaka establishes Shibaura Seisakusho, manufacturing telegraph equipment (Precursor to Toshiba)
|
Jul
|
Isaac Merritt Singer, founder of what became Singer Co., passes away [23-Jul]
|
|
Ichisuke Fujioka(Son-in-Law of Hisashige Tanaka) & Shoichi Miyoshi form Tokyo Denki (Tokyo Electric Co.)
|
1878
Jul
|
Bell Punch Co., Ltd. Incorporated in UK
|
Aug
|
Birth of Heinrich Diehl, co-founder of Diehl Corp. [3-Aug]
|
1880
Aug
|
Birth of Margarete Schmidt(Diehl), co-founder of Diehl Corp. [25-Aug]
|
1881
Sep
|
Founder of precursor to Toshiba, Hisashige Tanaka, passes away [17-Sep]
|
Dec
|
Kintarō Hattori opens K. Hattori & Co, a clock & jewelry shop in Tokyo, Japan (Precursor to Seiko) [26-Dec]
|
1884
Sep
|
National Cash Register Co. (NCR) founded in Dayton, Ohio by John H. Patterson [1-Sep]
|
1886
Jan
|
American Arithmometer Co. (Precursor to Burroughs Corp.) founded by William S. Burroughs in St. Louis, Missouri [21-Jan]
|
|
Smith Premier Typewriter Company established by Lyman C. Smith and three of his brothers, Wilbert, Monroe, and Hurlbut (Precursor to Smith Corona)
|
|
Carl Walther Company founded, producing firearms
|
1887
|
Dorr E. Felt patents his Comptometer, a mechanical adding/subtracting machine that
dramatically improved accuracy over earlier machines
|
1888
Mar
|
Birth of Willard Rockwell, founder of what became Rockwell International [31-Mar]
|
1889
|
Dorr E. Felt and Robert Tarrant form partnership manufacturing Felt's Comptometer calculating machines as
Felt & Tarrant Mfg. Co.
|
1890
|
AB Åtvidabergs Industrier founded in Sweden (becomes Facit AB)
|
1891
Apr
|
Carl Friden born in Alvesta, Sweden, founder of what became Friden Calculating Machine Co. [11-Apr]
|
May
|
Gerard Philips and his father, Frederik Philips, found the Philips Co. in Eindhoven, Holland,
|
>>>
|
manufacturing light bulbs (Precursor to Philips Gloeilampfabrieken N.V.) [15-May]
|
May
|
Japan's Ministry of Communications establishes Electrotechnical Laboratory (ETL) [24-May]
|
1892
|
The Spencer Co. (later Philco) founded producing carbon arc lamps
|
|
Grimme, Natalis & Co. AG acquires rights to manufacture calculating machines based on Odhner's
Pinwheel mechanism
|
1893
|
Smith Premier Typewriter Co. joins with Union Typewriter Co., a corporate trust including Remington, Caligraph, Densmore and Yost
|
Nov
|
Birth of Tokuji Hayakawa, founder of what became Hayakawa Electric (later, Sharp Corporation) [3-Nov]
|
1894
|
Bell Punch Co., Ltd. suffers massive fire, destroying a newly-built manufacturing plant
|
1896
|
Winklhofer & Jaenicke (later, Wanderer-Werke AG) founded in Chemnitz, Germany manufacturing motorcycles
|
|
Herman Hollerith founds Tabulating Machine Co. (Precursor to IBM)
|
|
Lagomarsino established in Milan, Italy as a distributor of European-made calculating machines
|
1898
Aug
|
Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. (Nippon Denki Kabushiki-gaishe) established by Kunihiko Iwadare and Takeshiro Maeda (Precursor to NEC) [31-Aug]
|
Sep
|
William S. Burroughs I, founder of Burroughs Corp., passes away [14-Sep]
|
1899
Jul
|
Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. Incorporated (Precursor to NEC) [17-Jul]
|
1900
Mar
|
Birth of Howard Aiken, physicist and computer technology pioneer [8-Mar]
|
Apr
|
Birth of Kiyoshi Ichimura in Saga Prefecture, Japan. Future founder of Ricoh, Co., Ltd. [4-Apr]
|
Sep
|
Birth of Kazuma Tateishi, future founder of Omron Tateisi Electronics [20-Sep]
|
1902
Jan
|
Curt Herzstark,
inventor of the Curta calculator, Born in Vienna, Austria [26-Jan]
|
Sep
|
Heinrich & Margarete Diehl start business as a metal artwork foundry (Beginnings of Diehl Corp.)
|
Dec
|
Birth of Toshio Iue, founder of Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. [28-Dec]
|
1903
|
Founders of Smith Premier Typewriter Co. quit due to conflicts with Union Typewriter Co., and form L. C. Smith & Bros. Typewriter Co.
|
|
Union Schreibmaschinen GmbH (Union Typewriter Co.) established in Berlin (Beginnings of Olympia International)
|
1904
Jan
|
Royal Typewriter Company founded by Edward B. Hess & Lewis C. Meyers, headquarterd in Brooklyn, NY
|
Apr
|
Birth of
George Robert Stibitz, future Bell Laboratories Computer Researcher & Designer [30-Apr]
|
|
American Arithmometer Co. moves from St. Louis to Detroit
|
1905
Jan
|
American Arithmometer Co. changes name to Burroughs Adding Machine Company [14-Jan]
|
Sep
|
Willgodt T. Odhner passes away, inventor of
Odhner Arithmometer [15-Sep]
|
|
Mercedes Büro-Maschinen Werke AG established in Thuringia, Germany
|
1906
Mar
|
Royal Typewriter Co. introduces its first typewriter, the Royal Standard
|
1907
May
|
Birth of Karl Diehl, son of Diehl Corp. founders [4-May]
|
Aug
|
Birth of
John W. Mauchly,
future co-designer of ENIAC and many other important early computers [30-Aug]
|
1908
|
Universal Adding Machine Co. acquired by Burroughs Corp.
|
Apr
|
Birth of Masaru Ibuka, co-founder of Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Co. Ltd. (later, Sony) [11-Apr]
|
|
Kanekichi Yasui establish Yasui Sewing Machine Co. (Precursor to Brother)
|
Oct
|
Camillo Olivetti founds Ing. C. Olivetti & Co., S.p.A., in Ivrea, Italy, manufacturing typewriters
|
1909
|
Burroughs Corp. acquires Pike Adding Machine Co.
|
|
Bryant Chucking Grinder Co. founded by William L. Bryant
|
1910
|
Nippon Chikuonki Shokai (Japan Recorders Corp.) founded by Frederick Whitney Horne (later, Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd./Denon) |
Feb
|
Birth of William B. Shockley, co-inventor of the transistor [13-Feb]
|
Feb
|
Uchida Denshi Kogyo Co., Ltd (a.k.a. Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd.) founded
|
Jun
|
Konrad Zuse born in Berlin, Germany [22-Jun]
|
|
Electrical Engineer Namihei Odaira forms Hitachi, produces first product, a 5HP induction motor
|
|
Sperry Gyroscope Co. founded by US inventor Elmer A. Sperry
|
|
Brothers Rodney and Alfred Marchant begin manufacturing calculating machines in Oakland, CA
[First US Calculator Company]
|
1911
|
Tabulating Machine Co. changes name to Computing, Tabulating and Recording Co. (CTR), later becomes IBM
|
Aug
|
Marchant Calculating Machine Co. formally incorporated [15-Aug]
|
1912
|
Muldivo Calculating Machine Co., Ltd. founded in London by Henri Ebstein as a distributor of office machines
|
|
Philips Gloeilampfabrieken N.V. incorporated (Philips)
|
Apr
|
Jay R. Monroe and Frank Baldwin establish the Monroe Calculator Co. [25-Apr]
|
Sep
|
David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett Packard, born in Pueblo, Colorado [7-Sep]
|
Sep
|
Tokuji Hayakawa founds metal-working shop in Tokyo, Japan, Hayakawa Brothers Co. (precursor to Hayakawa Electric) [15-Sep]
|
1913
May
|
Birth of William R. Hewlett, future co-founder of Hewlett Packard [20-May]
|
Jun
|
Birth of computing visionary and pioneer Maurice Vincent Wilkes, Dudley, Worchestershire, UK (Created concept of microprogramming) [26-Jun]
|
1915
|
James Picker Co. founded by James Picker in New York City (later, Picker X-Ray, Picker Corp./Picker Nuclear Division)
|
May
|
Tadashi Sasaki born in Taiwan (future calculator mover & shaker at Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) [12-May]
|
1916
|
National Association of Office Appliance Manufacturers founded in Chicago, Illinois
|
May
|
Birth of Bernard (Barney) Oliver, radar pioneer and later, founding director of Hewlett Packard Laboratories, responsible
|
>>>
|
for overseeing development of groundbreaking HP 9100 and HP-35 calculators [27-May]
|
1917
Nov
|
Tadao Kashio born, Nangoku City, Japan, future co-founder of Casio [26-Nov]
|
1918
|
AB Addo founded in Malmo, Sweden by Hugo Agrell
|
|
Matsushita Electric Housewares Mfg. Works (later Panasonic) founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita
|
Mar
|
Victor Adding Machine Co. founded in Chicago, IL, by Carl Buehler
|
May
|
Birth of Ge Yao (G.Y.) Chu (Employee #1 and Co-Founder of Wang Laboratories) [3-May]
|
May
|
Birth of Richard Phillips Feynman, future Theoretical Physicist, key member of Manhattan Project,
|
>>>
|
intuitive mechanical calculator repairman, 1965 Nobel Prize winner, quantum physics theorist [15-May]
|
Aug
|
Birth of
Katherine Johnson, who became one of NASA's
|
>>>
|
leading "human computers" (with the help of a Monroe electromechanical
calculator) [26-Aug]
|
Oct
|
Oi Electric Co. Ltd., founded, Tokyo, Japan [3-Oct]
|
1919
Apr
|
Birth of
John Adam Presper Eckert Jr., co-designer
of ENIAC and other early computers with John Mauchly [9-Apr]
|
Jun
|
Birth of
Stanley Frankel,
Manhattan Project Nuclear Physicist, and later gifted computer & calculator designer.
|
>>>
|
See Old Calculator Museum exhibit on the SCM/Marchant Cogito 240SR for more information. [6-Jun]
|
Jul
|
Birth of Frank S. Wyle, founder of Wyle Laboratories [23-Jul]
|
|
Radio Corporation of America (RCA) established as public company with majority ownership by General Electric
|
|
Willard Rockwell forms a company in Wisconsin making truck axle bearings forming the foundation of what becomes Rockwell International
|
|
The first adding machine from Victor Comptometer, the Model 110, is introduced
|
1920
Feb
|
An Wang born in Shanghai, China, future founder of Wang Laboratories [7-Feb]
|
1921
Jan
|
Birth of Akio Morita, co-founder of Sony [26-Jan]
|
|
Grimme, Natalis & Co. is incorporated as Grimme, Natalis & Co. AG (Brunsviga brand calculating machines)
|
|
Moon-Hopkins Billing Machine Co. purchased by Burroughs Corp.
|
1922
|
Laurence Marshall and Vannevar Bush are founders of American Appliance Co. (becomes Raytheon)
|
Oct
|
Birth of Donald C. Hoefler, future journalist who coins term "Silicon Valley" [3-Oct]
|
1923
Mar
|
William Henry Burkhart born, future prolific electronic calculating machine inventor at Monroe [4-Mar]
|
|
Dictaphone Corp. formed out of Columbia Gramophone Co.
|
Sep
|
Hayakawa Brothers Co. facilities destroyed by the
Great Kantō Earthquake
and subsequent fires [1-Sep]
|
Nov
|
Birth of
Jack St. Clair Kilby,
inventor of early experimental Integrated Circuit [8-Nov]
|
Dec
|
Birth of Árpád Klatsmányi in Budapest, Hungary, future father of digital computing
in Hungary
[20-Dec]
|
>>>
|
&nbap;&nbap;and designer of Hungary's first electronic calculator, the Hunor 131
[20-Dec]
|
1924
|
Birth of Yoshio Kojima (Future president of Nippon Calculating Machine Co.)
|
|
K. Hattori & Co. begins selling clocks under the Seiko brand name
|
|
Carl Walther Company begins manufacture and sale of mechanical calculating machines
|
Sep
|
Tokuji Hayakawa opens rebuilt(after earthquake) metal-working business in Osaka, Japan, as Hayakawa Metal Laboratories [1-Sep]
|
|
Burroughs Adding Machine Co. listed on New York Stock Exchange
|
|
Computing, Tabulating, and Recording Co. changes name to International Business Machines (IBM)
|
1925
Jan
|
Toshio Kashio born (future calculating machine inventor at Casio Computer Co., Ltd.)
|
|
Due to a name clash, American Appliance Co. changes name to Raytheon Co.
|
Apr
|
Frank S. Baldwin, prolific calculator designer at Monroe, passes away [8-Apr]
|
|
Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., Ltd. (later, Panasonic) registers "National"
brand name for consumer products marketed in Japan
|
Apr
|
Heinz Nixdorf born in Paderborn, Germany [9-Apr]
|
1926
|
L.C. Smith & Bros. and Corona Typewriter merge to become Smith Corona Corp.
|
Oct
|
Royal Typewriter Co. produces its one millionth typewriter
|
Nov
|
Kanekichi Yasui, founder of Yasui Sewing Machine Co. passes away
|
Nov
|
Masayoshi Yasui, son of founder Yasui Sewing Machine Co. succeeds his father as CEO of the company
|
|
Yasui Sewing Machine Co. renamed Yasui Brothers Sewing Machine Co.
|
1927
|
Remington Typewriter Co. and Rand Kardex merge to form Remington Rand
|
Mar
|
Birth of William B. Hugle, future co-founder of Hugle International, Siliconix, and others [30-Mar]
|
Mar
|
Birth of Robert H. Norman, electronics engineer & businessman (General Micro-electronics, Nortec Electronics) [24-Mar]
|
|
Grimme, Natalis & Co. AG renamed Brunsviga Maschinenenwerk Grimme, Natalis & Co. AG, recognizing
|
>>>
|
the Brunsviga brand name of calculating machines in its title
|
|
Matsushita begins marketing bicycle lamps in Japan under the "National" brand
|
Aug
|
Birth of Frances B. Sarnat, prolific inventor of semiconductor-related developments.
The only woman scientist involved
|
>>>
|
in such work in the early days of integrated circuit technology [13-Aug]
|
|
Remington Rand purchases Powers Accounting Machine Co.
|
Dec
|
Birth of
Robert Norton Noyce,
inventor of the first practical Integrated Circuit, and co-founder of Integrated Electronics (Intel) [12-Dec]
|
1928
|
Nippon Calculator Co. Ltd. incorporated in Osaka, Japan
|
|
Brand name "Brother" registered by Yasui Brothers Sewing Machine Co.
|
Jul
|
Birth of
Robert A. Ragen,
architect and project leader of the legendary
Friden EC-130
solid-state electronic calculator [23-Jul]
|
Sep
|
Paul Galvin founds Galvin Manufacturing Corp., in Chicago, Illinois (Precursor to Motorola)
|
1929
Jan
|
Birth of Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel, and
creator of
Moore's Law [3-Jan]
|
Jan
|
Birth of Kazuo Kashio, co-founder with brother Tadao, of Kashio Seisakujo (future Casio Computer Co., Ltd) [9-Jan]
|
Feb
|
Birth of Massimo Rinaldi, founder of Industrie Macchine Elettroniche (IME) and designer/patent holder of early IME Calculators [21-Feb]
|
Apr
|
Birth of Dale Perry Masher, co-designer at SRI of display subsystem for Friden 130 [14-Apr]
|
|
Harold T. Avery joins Marchant Calculating Machine Co.
|
|
Carl Friden leaves as head of design department at Marchant Calculating Machine Co.
|
|
National Association of Office Appliance Manufacturers renamed to Office Equipment Manufacturers Institute
|
Nov
|
Herman Hollerith, noted inventor of punched card tabulating equipment and founder of what later became IBM, passes away [17-Nov]
|
Dec
|
Idek Tramielski (Jack Tramiel) Born in Lodz, Poland (founder of Commodore) [13-Dec]
|
1930
|
Union Schreibmaschinen GmbH moves from Berlin to
Erfürt, Germany
|
|
Union Schreibmaschinen GmbH renamed to
"Europa Schreibmaschinen AG", creates the brand name "Olympia" for their
typewriters
|
|
Tiger Calculating Machine Co., Ltd. founded
|
May
|
Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. established in Japan
|
May
|
Geophysical Service founded by John C. Karcher and Eugene McDermott. (Precursor to Texas Instruments) [16-May]
|
|
Dorr Eugene Felt, co-founder of Felt & Tarrant, passes away
|
Nov
|
Birth of James (Phil) Ferguson, co-founder of General Micro-electronics [18-Nov]
|
Dec
|
Birth of Eiichi Goto, inventor of Parametron logic circuitry [22-Jan]
|
Mar
|
Julius J. Muray, (VP of Cintra, Inc.) Born in Hungary [22-Mar] |
Apr
|
Irwin Wunderman (founder of Cintra, Inc.) born [24-Apr]
|
Jun
|
Birth of Don E. Farina, MOS IC Pioneer [3-Jun]
|
1932
|
Ing. C. Olivetti & Co., S.p.A makes first public stock offering
|
May
|
Birth of Jay Glenn Miner, future guru-level MOS LSI circuit designer in early days of American Micro-systems (AMI)
|
>>>
|
involved in development of CADC LSI computer chip-set for the F-14 Tom Cat fighter. Creator of
|
>>>
|
innovative LSI IC's for Atari's home game consoles, Commodore 64 & AMIGA personal computers [31-May]
|
|
Carl Buehler, founder of Victor Adding Machine Co., passes away
|
Sep
|
Birth of Howard Rathbun, Co-Inventor of Monroe EPIC 2000 and EPIC 3000 calculators with Mark Pivovonsky. US Patent 3,328,763 [24-Sep]
|
1933
|
Seiki Kogaku Kenkyusho (Precision Optical Industry) established (Precursor to Canon Camera Co.)
|
Mar
|
Birth of Atsushi Asada, visionary engineer behind development of Electronic Calculators at Hayakawa Electric (Sharp)
|
|
Birth of William Kahn, visionary designer of Mathatronics Mathatron calculator and founder of Mathatronics
|
May
|
Friden Calculating Machine, Co. founded by Carl Friden with $52,000 in capital
|
May
|
Future inventor of CMOS IC technology, Frank Wanlass, born in Thatcher, Arizona [17-May]
|
May
|
Tateisi Electric Mfg. Co. founded by Kazuma Tateishi, Osaka Japan (becomes OMRON Corp.) [10-May]
|
1934
|
Edgar Jessup brought in by Board of Directors
of Marchant Calculators, Inc. as President
|
Aug
|
Birth of Chester Gordon Bell, later architect and project manager for many computer development
projects at Digital Equipment Corp. [19-Aug]
|
|
Vacuum Tube manufacturer Litton Industries founded by Charles Litton Sr.
|
|
Yasui Brothers Sewing Machine Co. renamed Nippon Sewing Machine Mfg. Co.
|
|
Barry Wright Corp. founded (later purchased Mathatronics, Inc.)
|
1935
|
IBM announces the 601 Multiplying Punch (electro-mechanical punched-card calculator) |
Mar
|
Birth of Norman J. Grannis, future co-founder of Computer Design Corporation [23-Mar]
|
May
|
Hayakawa Metal Industry Institute Co., Ltd. incorporated from Hayakawa Metal Laboratories, Tokuji Hayakawa Founder & President (Future Sharp Corp.) [1-May]
|
May
|
Birth of Howard Zabriskie Bogert, calculator designer & LSI engineer [5-May]
|
|
National Technical Laboratories founded by Caltech professor Dr. Arnold Beckman in Pasadena, CA.,
|
>>>
|
manufacturing precision Ph measurment equipment (Later, Beckman Instruments)
|
|
Precisa Co. founded in Zurich, Switzerland to manufacture
printing adding/calculating machines |
Jun
|
Fujitsu Limited established as manufacturing arm of Fuji Electric Ltd., manufacturing telephone exchange-related equipment [20-Jun] |
1936
Feb
|
Riken Kankoshi Co., Ltd. founded by Kiyoshi Ichimura as spinoff of Rikagaku Kogyo (Precursor to Ricoh Co., Ltd.) [6-Feb]
|
May
|
General Precision Equipment Corp. founded in New York, NY [30-May]
|
|
Hayakawa Metal Industry Institute Co., Ltd. changes
name to Hayakawa Industrial Co., Ltd. (Future Sharp Corp.)
|
|
Union Schreibmaschinen AG renamed Olympia
Büromaschinen Werke AG (Olympia Office Machine Works)
|
|
Friden Calculating Machine, Co., moves to San Leandro, California
|
1937
|
Librascope Inc., Glendale, CA, founded by Mr. Lewie Imm, developing & operating theater equipment
|
Aug
|
Seiki Kogaku Kenkyusho (Precision Optical Industry) Co., Ltd. Incorporated (Precursor to Canon Camera Co.)
|
|
Japanese government bans import of business machines
|
Oct
|
Marcian (Ted) Hoff, architect of the first commercial single-chip microprocessor at Intel, born in Rochester, New York
|
Nov
|
Proposal for conceptual computing machine that became Harvard Mark I presented to IBM
by Howard Aiken
|
1938
|
Konrad Zuse[6/22/1910-12/18/1995]
completes the mostly mechanical V1 (later known as Z1), prototype of a programmable calculating machine using binary elements |
Mar
|
Riken Kankoshi Co. Ltd. changes name to Riken Optical Co. Ltd. (Later Ricoh Co., Ltd.)
|
Jun
|
Passing of John A. Presper Eckert Jr., noted co-designer of ENIAC and other important early computers [3-Jun]
|
Sep
|
Project to develop Bell Labs' (George Stibitz-designed) relay-based Complex Number Calculator approved
|
Nov
|
Heinrich Diehl (founder of Diehl Corp.) passes, son Karl assumes presidency of company [7-Nov]
|
Nov
|
Hewlett Packard luminary Physicist & Enginner Barney Oliver passes away [23-Nov]
|
Dec
|
Incorporation of Geophysical Service, Inc. (Precursor to Texas Instruments) [6-Dec]
|
Dec
|
Lee Loren (Buff) Boysel born in Detroit, MI [31-Dec]
[Fairchild MOS LSI Disruptive Force, Developed First Single Chip Microprocessor Core]
|
1939
Jan
|
Hewlett Packard founded by Bill Hewlett & David Packard in Palo Alto, California USA
|
Feb
|
Funding for what becomes the IBM Harvard Mark I electromechanical computer project approved
|
|
Tokyo Denki (Tokyo Electric Co.) and Shibaura Seisakusho merge to form Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd. (Later, Toshiba)
|
Apr
|
Construction of the Bell Labs Model 1 Relay Complex Number Calculator begins
|
|
Clary Corp. founded by Hugh L. Clary
|
|
Geophysical Service Inc.(GSI) changes name to Coronado Corp., GSI spun off as subsidiary
|
|
General Instrument founded in Horsham, Pennsylvania
|
Oct
|
Bell Laboratories' relay-based (~425 relays and eight crossbar switches)
Model I Complex Number Calculator
|
>>>
|
completed and operational. Cost: ~$20,000, roughly $429,000 in 2022 dollars
[First known relay-based calculating machine]
|
1940
|
The Spencer Co. changes its name to Philco Corp., using the Philco brand name it had been marketing radios under since the 1930's
|
May
|
Directors of Philips Gloeilampfabrieken (Philips) learn of Germany's impending invasion of the Netherlands. To continue
|
>>>
|
members of the Philips family and other senior management flee to US to eventually start-up North American Philips Co.
|
|
Toshio Kashio begins work at Japan's Ministry of Communications after graduating from School of Electrical Engineering in Tokyo
|
Jul
|
Clive Marles Sinclair born in Ealing, England (Future founder of Sinclair Radionics Ltd.) [30-Jul]
|
|
Bell Punch Co., Ltd. introduces a Comptometer and markets it under the Sumlock Comptometer brand
|
|
Tiger Calculating Machine Co., Ltd. splits its sales organization into separate company, Tiger Calculating Sales Co., Ltd
|
Sep
|
Konrad Zuse[6/22/1910-12/18/1995] demonstrates his Z2 telephone relay-based calculating machine built in his parents' home
|
Sep
|
Public demonstration of Bell Laboratories' relay-based
Complex Number Calculator being remotely operated via
|
>>>
|
Teletype terminal at Dartmouth College [11-Sep]
[First example of remote computing]
|
Nov
|
Birth of Harold Koplow (Future senior calculator engineer at Wang Labs), in Lynn, MA [21-Nov]
|
1941
Jan
|
Passing of Edward B. Hess, co-founder of Royal Typewriter Co. and one of is principal typewriter designers
|
|
Konrad Zuse[6/22/1910-12/18/1995] founds Zuse Apparatebau to manufacture relay calculators/computers
|
May
|
Konrad Zuse[6/22/1910-12/18/1995]
publicly demonstrates his
V3 (later known as Z3)
relay-based floating-point
|
>>>
|
programmable calculator [12-May]
[World's first fully electric programmable calculating machine]
|
|
Librascope Inc. purchased by General Precision Equipment Corp.
|
May
|
Uchida Denshi Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Uchida Yoko) incorporated
|
May
|
Michael James Cochran (Chief Calculator Architect, Texas Instruments) born in Daytona Beach, Florida [21-May]
|
Sep
|
Birth of H. Edward Roberts, future founder of MITS [13-Sep]
|
|
Four-function relay calculator developed by Fuji Electric Works, Japan
|
Dec
|
Birth of Federico Faggin, leader of the team that
developed what is considered the first
|
>>>
|
commercial CPU on a chip, the Intel 4004, first used in Nippon Calculating Machines'
Busicom 141-PF
electronic calculator [1-Dec]
|
Dec
|
Geophysical Service Inc.(GSI) subsidiary of Coronado Corp. purchased by
Eugene McDermott, Cecil Green,
|
>>>
|
Erik Jonsson and H.B. Peacock to form foundation of what would later become Texas Instruments [6-Dec]
|
1942
|
Fuji Star Calculator Mfg. established (Precursor to Nippon Calculating Machine Co.)
|
Oct
|
As part of war effort, Smith Corona begins production of the M1903A3 Springfield bolt-action rifle at Syracuse, NY
calculator factory
|
|
Hayakawa Industrial Co., Ltd. changes business name to Hayakawa Electric Co., Ltd. (Hayakawa Denki Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha)
|
1943
Mar
|
Stanley Frankel and Eldred Nelson among first to arrive at secret Los Alamos site to begin calculations on effectiveness
|
>>>
|
of gun-type design for atomic (nuclear fission) bomb
|
|
Stanley Frankel & Eldred Nelson order assortment of Friden, Monroe, and Marchant rotary electromechanical calculators
|
>>>
|
for use by scientists and a group of so-called "hand computers" (human operators of calculators) at Los Alamos
|
|
T-5 Computing Group at Los Alamos formed, with Mary Frankel (Stanley's Frankel's wife) appointed as the informal group supervisor
|
|
Curt Herzstark[1/26/1902-10/27/1988],
under Nazi orders, draws up plans for what becomes the
Curta
|
>>>
|
mechanical calculator while imprisoned in infamous Nazi Buchenwald concentration camp
|
Jul
|
Bell Labs completes Model II "Relay Interpolator" relay-based special purpose computer, used
|
>>>
|
for calculations relating to the development of the US Army's M-9 (anti-aircraft) Gun Director system
|
Aug
|
Masatoshi Shima born in Shizouka, Japan. Later while at Nippon Calculating Machine Co., Ltd.(NCM)
|
>>>
|
becomes heavily involved in the development of simple computer CPU on a chip (Intel 4004) used in NCM's
Busicom 141-PF
calculator [22-Aug]
|
|
Los Alamos' T-Division leader Hans Bethe recruits mathematician Don Flanders to become the formal head of the T-5 Computing group.
|
>>>
|
Immediatly Flanders standardizes the calculators to be used at T-5 as the
Marchant Silent Speed 10ACT
|
>>>
|
All of the Monroe calculators and all but two Friden calculators were eliminated, with the two Friden calculators that
|
>>>
|
remained used by Mary Frankel(Stanley Frankel's wife) and Betty Inglis, which they insisted on keeping believing
|
>>>
|
they were superior to the Marchant calculators
|
Dec
|
Z-3 relay computer built by Konrad Zuse[6/22/1910-12/18/1995] destroyed by allied bombardment of Berlin [21-Dec]
|
1944
Jan
|
Construction of IBM's Harvard Mark I (also called ASCC, for Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator) electromechanical
|
>>>
|
computer completed at IBM's Endicott, NY plant
|
Feb
|
IBM's Harvard Mark I (ASCC) electromechanical computer shipped to Harvard University, but
still owned by IBM
|
Mar
|
Dr. John von Neumann runs one of the first production programs on Harvard Mark I electromechanical computer, a Top-Secret
|
>>>
|
implosion-type atomic bomb design simulation
|
|
Three specially-modified IBM Model 601 Multiplying Punch calculators and associated punched card equipment arrive at
|
>>>
|
Los Alamos to aid in nuclear weapons calculations
|
|
Stan Frankel, Eldred Nelson, and Richard Feynman go about installing the IBM punched card calculating equipment at
|
>>>
|
Los Alamos due to Manhattan Project secrecy precluding IBM field personnel from performing the installation
|
May
|
IBM Harvard Mark I (ASCC) electromechanical computer begins production ballistics calculations for US Navy Bureau of Ships
|
Aug
|
Harvard Mark I (ASCC) electromechanical computer formally turned over to Harvard University by IBM after completing
|
>>>
|
calculations for the US Navy [7-Aug]
|
1945
Mar
|
Bell Labs completes Model IV relay calculator using ~1400 relays. Shipped to Naval Research
|
>>>
|
Laboratory in Washington, DC for solving complex naval gun fire-control calculations
|
Apr
|
Carl Friden, founder of Friden Calculating Machine Co.,
passes away [29-Apr]
|
|
Nippon Calculator Co., Ltd. re-founded after WW-II manufacturing mechanical calculators (Precursor to Nippon Calculating Machine Co.)
|
|
Autonetics formed out of North American Aviation's Technical Research Laboratory
|
|
Walter S. Johnson assumes role as President of Friden Calculating Machine Co.
|
Jun
|
Bell Labs Completes Model III Relay-Based "Ballistic Computer"
|
Aug
|
First atomic bomb used in warfare dropped by US B-29 bomber on Hiroshima, Japan, immediately
|
>>>
|
 killing est. 80,000 and causing massive devastation [6-Aug. 8:15 AM Local Time]
|
Aug
|
A second atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, immediately killing est. 40,000 [9-Aug, 11:02 AM Local Time]
|
Aug
|
Japanese Emperor Hirohito issues unconditional surrender declaration in radio broadcast [15-Aug]
|
Sep
|
Japan officially surrenders due to overwhelming force of two US atomic bomb attacks, thus marking the end of World War II [2-Sep]
|
Sep
|
Royal Typewriter Co. resumes typewriter production after converting
|
>>>
|
to production of munitions, weapons, and aircraft parts for World War II
|
1946
Jan
|
Tektronix, Inc. founded by Jack Murdock and Howard Vollum in Portland, Oregon USA
|
Apr
|
Tadao Kashio and brother Kazuo co-found Kashio Seisakujo (Kashio Manufacturing, later "Casio Computer Co., Ltd.")
|
May
|
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Co.) re-established
|
>>>
|
after WWII (later, Sony) by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita [7-May]
|
|
Toshio Kashio joins brothers Tadao and Kazuo at newly founded Kashio Seisakujo as Director of R&D and
|
>>>
|
Engineering Manager (Kashio Seisakujo later becomes Casio Computer Co., Ltd.)
|
|
Smith & Corona renamed Smith-Corona
|
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co., Ltd Incorporated, Tokyo, Japan; changed name from Nippon Calculator Co.
|
|
Sankyo Seiki Mfg. founded, development of mechanical music box movements begins
|
|
First of two Bell Labs' Model V Relay calculators completed. Programmable via punched tape,
|
>>>
|
used over 9,000 relays. Installed at National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Langley Field, VA
|
|
Nippon Chikuonki Shokai(Japan Recorders Corp.) renamed Nippon Columbia Co.
|
|
Tadashi Sasaki visits transistor technology researchers at Bell Labs
|
Nov
|
Calculating race in Tokyo, between desktop electromechanical calculator and abacus - Abacus Won! [12-Nov]
|
1947
|
Galvin Manufacturing Corp. changes name to "Motorola, Inc."
|
|
Denon brand-name established for Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. audio products
|
Mar
|
Sanyo Denki Seisakusho (Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.) co-founded by Toshio Iue and brother Goro Iue
|
>>>
|
 :as spin-off of Matsushita due to US-mandated post-war break-up of largest Japanese corporations [21-Mar]
|
|
Second of two Bell Labs' Model V Relay calculators completed. Punched tape programmable,
|
>>>
|
used over 9,000 relays. Installed at the Ballistics Research Laboratory(BRL) in Aberdeen, MD
|
|
Curta calculator (Type I) begins production
|
Jun
|
William Hugle and Frances Sarnat are married
|
|
Burroughs adopts the capital "B" trademark
|
Aug
|
Hewlett Packard Co. Incorporated [18-Aug]
|
Sep
|
Seiki Kogako Kenkyusho (Precision Optical Industry) Co., Ltd. changes name to "Canon Camera Co., Inc."
|
Dec
|
The first working point-contact transistor is created at Bell Laboratories [16-Dec]
|
Dec
|
First use of the new point-contact transistor as audio amplifier
demonstrated internally at Bell Labs [23-Dec]
|
1948
Jan
|
The concept of a transistor made by growing semiconductor materials in layers conceived by Dr. William Shockley [23-Jan]
|
May
|
Tateisi Electric Mfg. changes name to Tateisi Electronics Co.
|
Jun
|
First program runs on Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM) Computer at Manchester University UK [21-Jun]
|
Jun
|
First practical Random Access Memory, the Williams-Kilburn electrostatic cathode ray tube (CRT) used in SSEM
|
Jun
|
Dr. William Shockley files for patent on his concept of a grown-junction transistor, becomes
|
>>>
|
US Patent #2569347 [26-Jun]
|
Jun
|
Bell Labs' point-contact Transistor first publicly demonstrated [30-Jun]
|
|
Futaba Denshi founded in Mobara, Japan, manufacturing radio vacuum tubes
|
|
Raytheon introduces the first successful commercial Germanium point-contact transistor, the CK703
|
1949
Jan
|
Japanese government establishes the Ministry of
International Trade and Industry (MITI) to coordinate financial
|
|
and business aspects of Japanese economy to strengthen the country's
recovery from World War II [11-Jan]
|
|
First Japanese Business Machine Exposition held in Tokyo, Japan
|
|
Kashio brothers visit Japan Business Machine Expo seeking ideas for new products,
|
>>>
|
and witness various electromechanical calculating machines
|
|
Toshio Kashio proposes that Kashio Seisakujo design & manufacture an electric (as opposed to electromechanical) calculator
|
>>>
|
and immediately begins design of a solenoid(electro-magnet)-based automatic four-function calculator
|
|
Wyle Laboratories founded by Frank S. Wyle with $5,000 loan from his father
|
|
Nippon Electric Co. (NEC) and Western Electric (Bell Labs) establish joint-venture with funding from Western Electric to develop transistor technology in Japan
|
May
|
The Cambridge University (UK) EDSAC stored program computer executes its first program [6-May]
|
Aug
|
Marchant Calculating Machine Co. re-incorporated as
Marchant Calculators Inc. [3-Aug]
|
Aug
|
Kobe Kogyo Corp. established [5-Aug]
|
|
Introduction of the
Friden STW-10
electromechanical calculator at the fall New York Business Show
|
|
Bell Labs' relay-based Complex Number Calculator decommissioned and dismantled
|
1950
Jan
|
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Co., Ltd. (later, Sony) completes its first commercial tape recorder
|
Feb
|
Royal Typewriter Co. introduces its first electric typewriter
|
|
Walter M. A. Andersen founds Andersen Laboratories, Inc., a pioneering
company in development of low-cost magnetostrictive delay line technology
|
|
Nippon Electric Co. (NEC) begins first Japanese transistor R&D effort as a result of joint-venture with Western Electric
|
Apr
|
Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., formally incorporated [1-Apr]
|
Apr
|
First Swedish-built computer, BARK (Binary Automatic Relay Calculator), introduced.
|
>>>
|
5,000 telephone relays, plug-board programmable, 50 memory registers, 100
number constant table. [28-Apr]
|
|
National Technical Laboratories changes its name to Beckman Instruments, Inc.
|
|
Kazuo Kashio joins brothers Tadao and Toshio at Kashio Seisakujo (Casio Computer Co., Ltd.)
|
|
Canon Camera Co., Inc. opens branch office in New York City
|
|
Diehl Corp. begins development of mechanical calculating machines
|
Nov
|
Broughton & Co. (Bristol) Ltd. (a.k.a. Broughtons of Bristol) incorporated, providing sales & support of imported office equipment in UK [17-Nov]
|
1951
Jan
|
Geophysical Service Inc.(GSI) changes name to General Instruments Inc.,
but due to a name clash
|
>>>
|
with General Instrument, Inc., again renamed as Texas Instruments
|
Feb
|
First commercially-available electronic computer, the UK's Ferranti Mark I, delivered to first customer
|
Jun
|
Dr. An Wang co-founds Wang Laboratories with Dr. Ge Yao Chu, with $600 of self-funding [22-Jun]
|
|
Concept of microprogramming conceived by Maurice Wilkes[6/26/1913-11/29/2010] at Cambridge University
|
Jul
|
Bell Labs features Dr. William Shockley during its announcement of the development of the first grown-junction transistor [4-Jul]
|
|
Bell Labs begins selling licensing rights to transistor technology for $25,000 (roughly $536,000 in 2022 dollars)
|
Sep
|
Bowmar Instrument Corp. founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, by Edward White
|
Sep
|
Bell Labs hosts first technology forum for potential licensees of transistor technology
|
|
Physical Research Laboratories of Pasadena, CA, formed by George B. Greene and
Donald White
|
|
Physical Research Laboratories announces intent to market a small, high-
performance scientific computer
|
1952
Mar
|
Takachiho Koheki Co. Ltd. founded [13-Mar]
|
Apr
|
Bell Laboratories hosts nine-day Transistor Technology Symposium for licensees of transistor technology
|
|
Benson-Lehner introduces the Computyper (later sold to Friden)
|
|
Yukio Kashio joins his three brothers at Kashio Seisakujo (later, Casio Computer Co., Ltd.)
|
|
Japan's Electrotechnical Laboratory (ETL) develops prototype relay calculator, the ETL Mark 1
|
|
Texas Instruments purchases license for transistor technology from Bell Labs
|
|
First demonstration of magnetic core memory
|
Jun
|
Wang Laboratories, Inc. incorporated [30-Jun]
|
|
Friden SRW electromechanical calculator introduced
[First Desktop Electromechanical Calculator with Automatic Square Root]
|
|
Founding of early semiconductor manufacturer Transitron Electronic Corp. by brothers David & Leo Bakalar.
|
Jul
|
Heinz Nixdorf founds Labor für Impulstechnik, in Essen, West Germany (later, Nixdorf Computer AG) [1-Jul]
|
Aug
|
Marchant Calculators, Inc. acquires 70% ownership of
computer manufacturer Physical
|
>>>
|
Research Laboratories (PRL) of Pasadena, CA to develop a computer business. Marchant
renames PRL to Marchant Research, Inc.
|
>>>
|
George Greene remains President [6-Aug]
|
|
Diehl Corp. (W. Germany) begins production of semi-automatic mechanical calculators
|
|
Introduction of the first commercial US product to utilize the transistor, the Sonotone 1010 Hearing Aid,
|
>>>
|
uses two subminiature vaccum tubes and a single transistor manufactured by Germanium Products, Inc. [29-Dec]
|
|
By December, 1952, Raytheon is producing thousands per week of the first commercial transistor, the Germanium PNP junction
|
>>>
|
device designated CK718, sold only to hearing aid manufacturers
|
1953
Jan
|
Introduction of the world's first all-transistor device, the Model O "Transit-Ear" hearing aid manufactured by Maico Electronics, Inc.
|
>>>
|
of Minneapolis, MN, utilizing three commercially-produced Raytheon CK718 Germanium PNP junction transistors
|
Jan
|
Paul Gardner Allen[1/21/1953-10/15/2018 ], future co-founder of Microsoft, co-author of the first BASIC language processor
|
>>>
|
for a microprocessor(Intel 8080), and Philanthropist, Born in Seattle, Washington [21-Jan]
|
|
Raytheon announces the first generally-available commercial transistor, the Germanium junction PNP CK722
|
|
Cherry Electrical Products Corp. founded by Walter Lorain Cherry out of the basement of a restaurant in Highland Park, IL
|
|
National Cash Register Co. (NCR), acquires Computer Research Corp., forming NCR Electronics Division
|
May
|
RCA introduces its first commercial transistors, the 2N34 Germanium junction PNP and the 2N35 Germanium junction NPN devices
|
|
Massimo Rinaldi graduates with Electrical Engineering degree from La Sapienza University of Rome
|
|
Burroughs Adding Machine Co. renamed to Burroughs Corp.
|
|
Burroughs Corp. delivers its first electronic computer, UDEC I, to Wayne State University
|
|
Smith-Corona renamed Smith-Corona, Inc.
|
|
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Co., Ltd. (later, Sony) purchases first Japanese license for transistor technology from Bell Laboratories
|
|
Philco Corp. develops the surface barrier transistor, a Germanium
transistor developed expressly for high-speed computers
|
|
Charles Thornton, noted businessman, forms Electro Dynamics, Corp., with partners Roy Ash and Hugh Jamieson,
|
>>>
|
in Beverly Hills, CA (Precursor to Litton Industries)
|
|
Marchant Research Inc. delivers its first computer, magnetic drum-based MINIAC to Atlantic Refining
|
>>>
|
at contract price of ~$50,000
|
|
Robert Ragen joins Friden Calculating Machine Co.
|
Nov
|
University of Manchester's Experimental Transistor Computer operational
[First Transistor-based(Logic) general purpose computer]
|
|
First practical use of magnetic core memory in a computer; 32x32x16 (1024 16-bit words) array in
Whirlwind I,
|
>>>
|
using vacuum tube-based row & column drivers and sense amplifiers
|
1954
Jan
|
Bell Labs' transistorized
TRADIC
computer becomes operational
[First Transistor-based(logic) computer in US]
|
|
Büromaschinen Werke AG renamed to Olympia Werke AG
|
Mar
|
Parametron ferro-electronic device invented in Japan by
Eiichi Goto[1/26/1931-6/12/2005],
|
>>>
|
a graduate student at Tokyo University. Parametron-based logic was first used in Ricoh/Oi Electric
|
>>>
|
Aleph Zero electronic calculator
|
|
Japan's Electrotechnical Laboratory creates Electronics Department specifically tasked with
|
>>>
|
solid-state electronic technology research & development
|
|
Brother International Corp. established as US presence by Nippon Sewing Machine Mfg. Co.
|
Apr
|
Texas Instruments R&D department develops first functional Silicon junction transistor [4-Apr]
|
Apr
|
Royal Typewriter Co. announces intent to merge with McBee Co.
|
|
Burroughs purchases Haydu Brothers vacuum-tube manufacturing firm to become manufacturer of Burroughs' newly-invented
|
>>>
|
Nixie
display tube
|
May
|
Texas Instruments announces it has begun initial volume production of Silicon-based transistors [10-May]
[First mass production of Silicon-based transistors]
|
May
|
Texas Instruments seeks radio manufacturer to produce a fully-transistorized radio that they designed using hand-picked
|
>>>
|
sets of four TI-made Germanium junction NPN transistors. Large vacuum-tube radio manufacturers Philco and RCA were
|
>>>
|
not interested. Industrial Development Engineering Associates(IDEA) of Indianapolis, IN, marketing products under the
|
>>>
|
Regency brand, signs up to manufacture and market the radio
|
Jul
|
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Ltd. (Sony) announces availability of the first transistor produced in Japan,
|
>>>
|
a PNP Germanium-alloy junction device
|
Jul
|
Eiichi Goto[1/26/1931-6/12/2005]
presents research paper on Parametron logic at Japan's Electronic Computer Research
|
|
Group of the Institute of Telecommunications Engineers
|
Jul
|
Merger of Royal Typewriter Co. and McBee Co. completed, forming Royal McBee Corp.
|
Sep
|
Toyo Electronics Industry established in Kyoto Japan, known as R.ohm (Future ROHM Semiconductor) |
|
Charles Thornton's Electro Dynamics Corp. purchases vacuum tube manufacturer Litton
|
>>>
|
Industries for $1.5M with financing from Lehman Brothers, assumes Litton Industries name.
|
Oct
|
The Regency TR-1, the first transistor radio, designed by Texas Instruments, using four TI transistors, and produced by the
|
>>>
|
Regency division of Industrial Development Engineering Associates (IDEA) is announced at a target retail price of $49.95 [18-Oct]
|
Oct
|
Fuji Telecommunications Mfg. (later Fujitsu) introduces
FACOM 100
programmable relay calculator (~4,500 relays)
|
|
Friden Calculating Machine Co. opens production facility in Wageningen, Holland
|
Nov
|
The Regency TR-1 transistor radio, the first such device in the world, begins retail sale
|
|
Production of the
Curta Type II
mechanical calculator begins
|
Dec
|
Kashio Seisakujo (Casio) completes prototype of solenoid(electromagnet)-based fully-automatic four-function electric calculator
|
1955
|
Kazuo and Yukio Kashio of Kashio Seisakujo(Casio) visit office equipment retailer Uchida Yoko
|
>>>
|
to show their prototype solenoid-based calculating machine. After demonstrating the
|
>>>
|
calculator, they are told it is not marketable due to lack of chain multiplication, stating the machine is "outdated"
|
|
On the heels of the rejection by Uchida Yoko, Toshio Kashio begins intensive re-work of solenoid-based calculator
|
>>>
|
to successfully add chain multiplication and various other improvements
|
Feb
|
Monroe Calculator Co. introduces the
Monrobot III
vacuum tube, magnetic drum-based programmable desk-sized electronic calculator
|
|
Autonetics established as an independent division of North American Aviation specializing in military electronics
|
Aug
|
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, Ltd. (later, Sony) introduces Japan's first transistor radio for sale in the US,
the Sony-Radio TR-55, utilizing five Sony-made
|
>>>
|
Germanium junction transistors developed under license from Bell Laboratories
|
|
Canon opens US Branch office in New York City, establishing Canon USA
|
|
Texas Instruments introduces the first commercial Silicon-junction transistors, the 900-Series
|
|
Typewriter marketing firm, Commodore International Ltd., founded by Jack Tramiel in Toronto, Canada
|
May
|
Dr. An Wang granted US Patent
2,708,722
for principles of principles of magnetic core memory
|
|
Remington Rand merges with Sperry Gyroscope Corp., forming Sperry Rand
|
|
Matsushita begins use of "PanaSonic" as brand name for products sold outside native Japanese market
|
Jun
|
Wang Laboratories incorporated with Dr. An Wang as President/CEO, and Ge Yao Chu as Vice President
|
|
Motorola opens new production facility in Phoenix, AZ to produce transistors
|
Aug
|
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, Ltd. (Sony) listed as OTC stock on Tokyo Stock Exchange
|
|
Olivetti establishes a new Laboratory of Electronic Research in Piza, Italy
|
Oct
|
ENIAC, generally considered the world's first general-purpose fully electronic computer,
decommissioned [2-Oct, 11:45 PM EST]
|
Oct
|
WEIZAC
electronic computer becomes fully operational
[First Electronic Digital Computer in the Middle East (Israel)]
|
Oct
|
George Greene resigns as president of Marchant Research, Inc.
|
Oct
|
Birth of William Henry Gates, Seattle, WA (Future Co-Founder of Microsoft) [28-Oct]
|
Nov
|
Introduction
of
Stanley Frankel
-designed
Librascope LGP-30 small computer
|
Nov
|
Japan's Electrotechnical Laboratory completes large-scale relay-based
ETL Mark II Computer,
over 20,000 relays
|
1956
|
Project behind development of Bell Punch electronic calculator begins
|
Mar
|
Japan's Fuji Photographic Film Co. completes Japan's first electronic computer, FUJIC, 1700 vacuum tubes, delay line memory
|
Mar
|
Dr. An Wang sells rights to patent for core memory principles to IBM for $500,000 to provide capital for Wang Laboratories [4-Mar]
|
|
Kashio Seisakujo (Casio) completes engineering prototype of fully-featured solenoid-based calculator and begins
|
>>>
|
preparing it for production
|
Mar
|
Friden Calculating Machine Co.
acquires
Commercial Controls Corp. (Originator of Flexowriter/Justowriter) [12-Mar]
|
|
After years of working on development of an automatic solenoid-based electric calculator at Kashio Seisakujo(Casio),
|
>>>
|
it's inventor, Toshio Kashio, suddenly declares it to be a dead-end, and immediately begins design of a relay-based calculator
|
|
Kashio Seisakujo(Casio) abandons plans to manufacture refined solenoid-based electric calculator
|
|
Realtone Electronics Corp.(US) founded in New York by Saul Ashkenazi to market transistor radios in the US imported
|
>>>
|
from Japan's Kobe Kogyo Corp. under the TEN brand
|
|
Facit (Sweden) creates new subsidiary, Facit Electronics, to build and sell electronic computers
|
|
Litton Industries introduces the transistorized Litton 20 computer, tailored for solving differential equations
|
Jul
|
Japan's Electrotechnical Laboratory(ETL) completes Japan's first transistorized computer, the
ETL Mark III,
|
>>>
|
using optical glass ultrasonic delay lines for main memory
|
|
Burroughs Corp. acquires computer manufacturer ElectroData Corporation
|
|
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT)
TX-0
fully transistorized computer completed
|
|
With investment capital from Beckman Instruments, Inc., Dr. William Shockley[2/13/1910-8/12/1989] founds Shockley Semiconductor
|
>>>
|
Laboratory in Mountain View, California to develop and market Silicon-based (as opposed to Germanium) semiconductor devices
|
Aug
|
Smith Corona acquires Kleinschmidt Laboratories of Deerfield, IL for telecommunications products and engineering/technical talent
|
|
Kashio Seisakujo (later, Casio Computer Co., Ltd.) shows prototype relay-based automatic four-function electric calculator,
|
|
a vast improvement in both speed and usability over earlier solenoid-based electric calculator
|
Dec
|
Dr. William Shockley[2/13/1910-8/12/1989], Walter Brattain[2/10/1902-10/13/1987], and
|
>>>
|
John Bardeen[5/23/1908-1/30/1991] jointly awarded Nobel Prize in Physics for discovery of the transistor effect [10-Dec]
|
|
US Government action mandates Bell Laboratories make transistor design information available for licensing
|
1957
|
Sherman Fairchild, founder of Fairchild Camera and Instrument, funds startup of Fairchild Semiconductor
|
>>>
|
to develop and market Silicon transistors
|
|
Felt and Tarrant Mfg. Co. becomes Comptometer Corp.
|
|
RCA introduces the 2N404 PNP alloy-junction Germanium transistor which became heavily used in early US
|
>>>
|
US-made electronic calculator designs. Examples:
Friden 130,
Wyle Laboratories WS-01/WS-02,
Wang LOCI
|
|
Clary Corp. introduces a plug-board-programmable electronic calculator built into a desk, the Clary
DE-60
|
|
Brunsviga Maschinenwerke AG enters into partnership arrangement with Olympia Werke AG
|
|
Elmer R. Easton joins Wyle Laboratories as part of its management team after five years at Lear Inc. (Aircraft)
|
|
Digital Equipment Corporation (a.k.a. DEC) founded in Maynard, Massachusetts
|
|
Hitachi completes its first electronic computing machine, the
HIPAC MK-1, based on Parametron logic circuitry developed by
Eiichi Goto[1/26/1931-6/12/2005].
|
>>>
|
The HIPAC KM-1 was used to calculate sag of electrical power lines between power poles
|
|
The Nixie Tube gas-discharge numeric display tube goes into volume production at Haydu Brothers division of Burroughs
|
Jun
|
Kashio Seisakujo formally re-incorporated as Casio Computer Co., Ltd. [1-Jun]
|
Jun
|
Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd. forges agreement with Casio Computer Co., Ltd. as exclusive domestic (Japan) distributor of Casio 14-A and
future calculators
|
Jun
|
New Casio Computer Co., Ltd. 14-A Relay Calculator begins production. 342 Relays, Bi-Quinary Logic,
|
>>>
|
four function with ten-key keyboard[Casio's First Commercial Relay-based Calculator]
|
|
The "Traitorous Eight" senior engineers resign from Shockley Semiconductor to join fledgling Fairchild Semiconductor
|
|
IBM introduces the
610 "Auto-Point" programmable calculator
(floating point, programmable w/magnetic drum, vacuum-tube logic)
Video on YouTube
|
|
Royal Typewriter division of Royal McBee produces its ten-millionth typewriter
|
Dec
|
Casio delivers first 14-A Relay Calculator to exclusive distributor, Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd.
|
1958
Jan
|
Bell Punch shows prototype of electronic calculator using cold-cathode tube technology
|
Jan
|
Marchant shuts down Marchant Research Inc. subsidiary due to high R&D costs for computer business
|
Jan
|
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, Ltd. renamed to Sony Corporation [1-Jan]
|
|
Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., Ltd. established as spin off from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
|
|
Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. introduces the NEAC-1101 and NEAC-1102 computers based on Parametron technology
|
|
James Picker Co. acquired by CIT Financial, but Picker family still manages operations
|
|
Marchant Calculators, Inc. acquires Johnson Adding Machine Co.
|
Mar
|
Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) National Convention, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City, NY [24-27 Mar]
|
Apr
|
Smith-Corona, Inc. and Marchant Calculators, Inc.
agree
in principle to merge [7-Apr]
|
Sep
|
Merger of Smith-Corona, Inc. and Marchant Calculators, Inc. completed, forming
Smith-Corona Marchant
|
Sep
|
Jack Kilby demonstrates his prototype Integrated Circuit to his boss at Texas Instruments [12-Sep]
|
Oct
|
Monroe Calculator Co. acquired by Litton Industries, becomes Monroe division of Litton Industries
|
|
Prof. László Kozma completes Hungary's first relay-based computer (Approx. 2000 relays), the
MESZ-1, at Budapest University of Technology
|
|
Smith-Corona Marchant acquires British Typewriters, Ltd.
|
Dec
|
Sony Corporation listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange
|
1959
|
Hitachi establishes business presence in the US; Hitachi New York, Ltd.
|
|
Friden SBT-10 electromechanical calculator introduced offering "Back Transfer" from carriage to keyboard
|
Apr
|
Tsugio Makimoto hires on at Hitachi, working to improve Germanium transistor operating speed
|
Apr
|
Hitachi Ltd. completes its first transistorized computer, the binary-coded
decimal
HITAC 301
|
Apr
|
Olivetti introduces Italy's first commercially sold computer, the transistorized ELEA 9003, at the
Milan Fair
|
Apr
|
Varadyne Industries, Inc. incorporated in Santa Monica, CA
|
|
Brunsviga Maschinenwerke AG becomes Brunsviga Division of Olympia Werke AG, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
|
|
Bryant Chucking Grinder Co. begins design work on a magnetic disk drive
|
|
Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor develops first monolithic Integrated Circuit
|
|
Massimo Rinaldi founds Transimatic S.p.A. in Rome, manufacturing mechanical calculators and accounting machines (later, IME)
|
May
|
Casio Computer Co., Ltd. introduces 14-B Relay calculator, adding automatic Square Root
|
|
Árpád Klatsmányi
joins
Elektronikus Mérőkészülékek Gyára(EMG),
|
>>>
|
(Electronics Measurement Equipment Works) founded in Hungary, performing research on
|
>>>
|
the use of transistors for digital logic
|
|
LGP-30 computer installed at Dartmouth University, beginning Dartmouth's legacy in computer history
|
|
Solitron Devices, Inc., solid-state electronic component manufacturer, founded by Benjamin Friedman, in West Palm Beach, FL
|
May
|
Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. (later, NEC) delivers first commercial Japanese-made fully transistorized computer, the NEAC 2203
|
May
|
National Semiconductor founded in Danbury, Connecticut
|
Nov
|
Design team formed at Packard Bell to develop what becomes the
PB-250 computer
|
Dec
|
NYSE IPO of Massachusetts-based semiconductor designer/manufacturer
Transitron Electronic Corp.
|
>>>
|
consisting of 1,000,000 shares at $36/share. All shares sold within 30 minutes.
|
|
Japan displaces the United States as the world's largest producer of transistors, producing 86 million transistors in 1959
|
1960
Feb
|
NEC prototypes first Japanese-made mesa-type Germanium transistor [19-Feb]
|
Feb
|
Sony establishes Sony Corporation of America in US
|
Feb
|
First customer shipment of Clary DE 60 desk-sized programmable electronic calculator
|
Mar
|
Texas Instruments announces the SN502 "Solid Circuit" Silicon Monolithic IC Flip Flop ($450 Retail per Flip Flop!)
[TI's First Commercially Sold Digital IC]
|
|
Japan's Unoke Denshi Kogyo formed by partnership of seven individuals (precursor to USAC Electronic Indstrial Co., Ltd.) [1-Nov]
|
|
Federico Faggin begins computer design career at Olivetti in Italy
|
|
Nippon Electric Co. (NEC) begins R&D effort in Integrated Circuit technology
|
|
Comptometer Corp. sells right use trademark "Comptometer" to Control Systems Ltd., the owner of Bell Punch Co. Ltd., and Sumlock, Ltd.
|
Mar
|
Casio 301 Scientific relay calculator introduced
|
|
Philco Corp. files for bankruptcy protection, seeks buyer for distressed business
|
Apr
|
Clevite Transistor Products acquires Shockley Transistor Corp., William Shockley joins Clevite's transistor division |
Apr
|
Engineers from Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) visit Prof. Hiroshi Ozaki at Osaka University to study transistorized digital logic design principles
|
May
|
Packard Bell introduces the
PB-250 Computer
at the Western Joint
|
>>>
|
Computer Conference although the computer itself was not shown
|
Jun
|
Smith-Corona Marchant announces a line of photocopy machines
|
Jul
|
James (Phil) Ferguson begins new role in Sustaining Engineering at Fairchild Semiconductor [10-Jul]
|
Aug
|
Prototype
Packard Bell PB-250
computer operational.
Stanley Frankel is a consulting engineer on logic design of the computer
|
|
Smith-Corona Marchant enters accounting/bookkeeping machine market with
machines manufactured for them by West-German firm Kienzle Apparate, GmbH
|
Sep
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) formally creates high technology product research department
|
Sep
|
Fairchild Semiconductor produces first functional planar monolithic integrated circuit
|
Oct
|
First production
Packard Bell PB-250 computer delivered to customer
|
|
Research into development of fully electronic calculator begins at Hayakawa Electric(Sharp) within newly formed R&D department under supervision of Mr. Atsushi Asada
|
1961
Jan
|
Japan's government-backed Electro-Technical Laboratory produces a simple integrated circuit as proof-of-concept
[Japan's First Integrated Circuit]
|
|
William Kahn begins design specification for Mathatron calculator
|
Feb
|
Fuji Tsushinki Manufacturing Corp. (now Fujitsu) completes prototype of its first transistorized computer, the
FACOM 222 general purpose computer
|
Feb
|
Casio announces the
"TUC Compuwriter",
a relay-based calculating machine for business that provided
a Toshiba-made output typewriter
|
|
Sony R&D Engineer Saburu Uemura creates a "homebrew" transistorized electronic
abacus (calculator) using over one-thousand reject radio transistors |
Mar
|
Clary introduces DAC-2500 electronic calculating unit as OEM product (derived from DE 60 programmable calculator)
|
|
Autonetics division of North American Aviation introduces its RECOMP-II
|
>>>
|
engineering-oriented transistorized fixed-head disk-based computer w/native floating point math capability
|
|
Bryant Chucking Grinder Co. acquired by Ex-Cell-O Corp., becomes Bryant Computer Products
|
|
Zuse KG,
computer company founded by
Konrad Zuse[6/22/1910-12/18/1995],
builds fully functional replica
|
>>>
|
of Zuse's original
Z-3 relay computer
that was destroyed in bombing of Berlin in December, 1943
|
|
Realtone Electronics Corp. goes public on AMEX with symbol RTE
|
|
VEB Mechanik Büromaschinenwerk Rheinmetall (East Germany) introduces line of rotary electromechanical calculators under the Supermetall brand
|
Mar
|
Fairchild Semiconductor announces its µLogic family of RTL logic biploar integrated circuits
|
Mar
|
IRE International Convention and Show, Waldorf Astoria Hotel / Coliseum, New York [20-23 Mar]
|
Apr
|
Business Equipment Exposition, New York Coliseum [17-21 Apr]
|
Apr
|
Logicon Inc.
founded by eight engineers in Redondo Beach, CA, focusing on defense-oriented computing systems
|
|
Kōnosuke Matsushita of Matsushita Electric Housewares Mfg. Works
travels to US and cements deals to produce
television sets under the "Panasonic" brand for sale in US markets
|
May
|
Friden Calculating Machine Co. contacts Stanford Research Institute (SRI) to develop a CRT-based display system for a calculator
|
|
Mitsubishi Electric produces Japan's first commercial integrated circuit under trade name
|
>>>
|
of Molectron (Molecular Electronics) using Westinghouse IC samples as a reference
|
|
TTL (Transistor-Transistor Logic) invented at Thompson Ramo Wooldridge (TRW) by James Buie
|
|
Wyle Laboratories goes public
|
|
Sumlock Comptometer Ltd. founded, primary distributor for Bell Punch calculators
|
|
Unoke Denshi Kogyo(USAC Electronic Industrial, Co., Ltd.) produces prototype Parametron-based office-oriented
|
>>>
|
small computer system designated USAC 5010 (Never marketed)
|
|
Nippon Sewing Machine Mfg. Co. (Brother) begins manufacturing office products
|
Aug
|
Japan Electronic Computer Co. (JECC) formed, a computing equipment rental agency
formed by collaboration of the Japanese government and major computing
equipment
|
>>>
|
manufacturers; Tokyo Shibaura Denki(Toshiba), Fuji Tsushinki Mfg. Co. (Fujitsu), Nippon Electric Co. (NEC), Hitachi,
|
>>> |
Oki Electric Industry, Matsushita Electric Industrial and Mitsubishi Electric
|
|
Tadashi Sasaki earns PhD in Electrical Engineering from Kyoto University
|
Sep
|
Wyle Laboratories
acquires
Ransom Research Inc., of San Pedro, CA. Ransom Research develops and markets
|
>>>
|
solid-state standardized logic modules and chassis for digital electronic systems prototyping or production use.
|
>>>
|
Ransom Research also has a side-project using their logic modules to prototype a solid-state electronic calculator which
|
>>>
|
later becomes the Wyle Laboratories WS-01
|
|
BEMA (Business Equipment Manufacturers Association) formed from reorganization of Office Equipment Manufacturers Institute
|
Sep
|
SRI delivers contracted prototype CRT Display System to Friden, one month ahead of Schedule
|
Sep
|
Signetics (contraction of Signal Network Electronics) Corp. founded by four ex-Fairchild
|
>>>
|
semiconductor engineers with $1M funding from Lehman Brothers and others [12-Sep]
|
Oct
|
Texas Instruments completes prototype "SOLID CIRCUIT" computer programmed
to operate as a simple desk calculator under contract
|
>>>
|
to Aeronautical Systems Division of the US Air Force to demonstrate viability of monolithic integrated circuit technology
|
Oct
|
Sumlock Comptometer/Bell Punch introduce the Anita C/VII (Mark 7) and the
C/VIII
(Mark 8) at the Hamburg Business Equipment Fair
|
Oct
|
Sumlock Comptometer
Anita C/VIII
(Mk 8) shown to the world at London Exposition
[First mass-marketed desktop electronic calculator]
|
Oct |
Victor Adding Machine Co. and Comptometer Corp. merge to form Victor Comptometer Corp.
|
Oct |
First public exhibition of the
Anita C/VIII
(Mk 8) at the Business Efficiency Exhibition in London
|
>>>
|
a line of standardized transistor-based logic modules and associated equipment.
|
Nov
|
Friden begins project EDTC-1, integrating SRI Display System with
Friden-developed Calculator Logic
|
Dec
|
Diehl Corp. (West Germany) and SCM forge
agreement
for SCM to gain exclusive rights to market Diehl calculators in North America [9-Dec]
|
|
Friden selects Bryant Computer Products C-105 Magnetic Drum system for use in EDTC-1 proof-of-concept prototype "calculator"
|
Dec
|
Ford Motor Company purchases Philco, creating Philco-Ford division, marketing electronic
semiconductor components,
|
>>>
|
consumer products, computer systems, and space & defense industry equipment [11-Dec]
Dec
|
Wyle Laboratories and Liberty Electronics Corp. sign agreement stating that Wyle Laboratories will assume ownership
of all aspects of Liberty Electronics Corp. [21-Dec]
|
1962
Jan
|
Sumlock Comptometer begins accepting orders for the Anita Mk7 and
Anita Mk8
calculators
|
Jan
|
Sumlock Comptometer begins mass manufacturing of the Anita Mk7 and
Anita Mk8
|
Jan
|
Casio Computer Co., Ltd. introduces the AL-1 scientific relay calculator with up to 360 steps of user-programmable
electromechanical read-only memory (ROM)
|
Jan
|
Wyle Laboratories completes acquisition of electronics distributor Liberty Electronics Corp. through 100% share purchase
|
Feb
|
Rapid Data Systems & Equipment, Ltd. incorporated [6-Feb]
|
Feb
|
Mathatronics Inc., founded by William Kahn, Roy Reach, and David Shapiro. Formal design of
Mathatron
calculator begins
|
Mar
|
Signetics announces the SE-100 series of small-scale DTL (Diode-Transistor Logic) Integrated Circuits at IEEE show
[First Commercial DTL IC series]
|
Mar
|
Semiconductor manufacturer Siliconix co-founded by husband and wife team of William and Frances Hugle in
Santa Clara, CA
|
|
Japanese government creates government-owned Research & Development Corp. to provide funding to help Japanese companies to reach technological goals
|
|
Business machine distributor Remex Corp. opens doors in Palm Beach, FL
|
|
Facit AB shuts down Facit Electronics subsidiary due to extreme competition in the computer marketplace
|
|
Philips (Netherlands) demonstrates two prototype transistorized electronic adding machines
and a prototype transistorized three-function (+,-,X) 10-key calculating device
|
|
Ahead of schedule, Stanford Research Institute(SRI) delivers to Friden its' prototype CRT Display
hardware and design information for use in electronic calculator proof-of-concept
|
|
General Electric produces the first practical Light Emitting Diode (LED)
|
|
Thomas Osborne begins thought process for design of future
"Green Machine"
electronic calculator using Finite State Machine(FSM) logic
|
>>>
|
while EE student at UC Berkeley
[2]
|
May
|
Friden's EDTC-1 magnetic drum-based electronic calculator proof-of-concept operational
|
May
|
Addmaster Corp. incorporated to manufacture low-cost adding machines
utilizing DuPont DELRIN™ plastic components
|
|
Commodore International, Ltd. goes public, changes name to Commodore Business Machines
|
Jun
|
SRI issues refund of $4,444.62 to Friden due to Display Project cost under-run
|
Jun
|
Friden initiates design project EDTC-3 to replace magnetic drum in
proof-of-concept prototype electronic calculator with magnetostrictive delay line
|
|
Unoke Denshi Kogyo(USAC Electronic Industrial, Co., Ltd.) signs business collaboration agreement with Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd.
|
|
Hayakawa Electric Co., Ltd. establishes US sales presence as Sharp Electronics Corp.
|
Aug
|
Japan's first microprogrammed computer, KT-Pilot, announced as joint
collaboration of Kyoto University and Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co. (now Toshiba)
|
|
Nippon Sewing Machine Co. changes name to Brother Industries, Ltd.
|
|
Saburo Uemura, researcher at Sony, demonstrates third prototype (MD-3) hand-built electronic calculator with typewriter
|
>>>
|
output, designated MD-3, to skeptical Sony management
|
|
Thomas Osborne begins employment at Smith Corona Marchant as part of engineering team developing an electronic calculator
[2]
|
|
Olivetti begins design of
Programma 101
electronic calculator under direction of Pier Giorgio Perotto[12/24/1930-1/22/2002]
|
Nov
|
Signetics receives $1.7M investment from Corning Glass in exchange for 51% ownership
|
Nov
|
Smith-Corona Marchant changes company name to SCM Corp.
|
Nov
|
Soviet Union demonstrates operational prototype of an all-electronic calculator, precursor to production VEGA electronic calculator
|
|
Oi Electric Co., Ltd. (Japan) initiates an electronic calculator development project in collaboration with Ricoh
|
|
Friden SRQ electromechanical calculator introduced, offering automatic square root
[First Electromechanical Rotary Calculator with Square Root]
|
Dec
|
Working prototype of
Mathatron
calculator formally demonstrated to investors of Mathatronics Inc.
|
Dec
|
Ferranti Atlas computer at Manchester University provides first virtual
memory management capabilities (Address-Translation, Memory Paging)
|
Dec
|
US Subsidiary of Ricoh Co., Ltd. founded as Ricoh Industries, U.S.A. Inc.
|
1963
Jan
|
Richard (Dick) Ahrens begins work at Friden in Calculator Engineering Department working on what becomes the
Friden EC-130 [7-Jan]
|
Mar
|
First order for two Mathatronics
Mathatron
calculators placed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
|
|
Realtone Electronics Corp. begins marketing consumer electronics products under the Soundesign brand name
|
|
General Arthur Lowell retires from the US Marine Corps
|
Apr
|
Riken Optical Co. Ltd. changes name to Ricoh Co., Ltd. |
|
Long-term merger negotiations between Kienzle Apparate, GmbH and
Labor füur Impulstechnik (later, Nixdorf) begin
|
Apr
|
Ricoh Europe S.A. established in Switzerland as subsidiary of Ricoh Co., Ltd.
|
|
Philips introduces the "Compact Cassette" audio tape (later used by Wang, HP, and others for program/data storage for calculators)
|
Jun
|
Friden exhibits prototype
Friden EC-130
electronic calculator to limited audiences under non-disclosure
|
|
Kobe Kogyo Corp. merges with Fujitsu Ltd.
|
Jun
|
General Micro-electronics(GM-e), spinoff of Fairchild Semiconductor, founded by Col. Arthur Lowell(retired, US Marine Corps) along with
|
>>>
|
Robert Norman[3/24/1927-1/21/2017],
Howard Bobb, and James (Phil) Ferguson[11/18/1930-1/15/2016] (All from Fairchild Semiconductor) [31-Jun]
|
Jun
|
Hayakawa Electric Co., Ltd. (Sharp) and Olims Consolidated Ltd. (Australia) establish joint venture
|
>>>
|
(Olims-Hayakawa Electronics Pty Ltd.)
manufacturing and selling Hayakawa-designed radios and TVs under the Sharp brand name in Australia
|
Jun
|
Friden introduces its 6010
Computyper transistorized computer system
|
|
Sanyo introduces the "Cadnica" line of Nickel-Cadmium Rechargeable batteries
|
|
Singer Manufacturing Co. changes named to Singer Corp.
|
Jun
|
SCM Corp. announces plan to move manufacturing calculators from Oakland, CA, to Orangeburg, SC
|
Jul
|
Announcement of intent for Singer Corp. to acquire Friden Calculating Machine Co. [16-Jul]
|
Jul
|
Mathatronics Inc., successfully completes first customer shipment of Mathatron Model 8-48 calculator to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute for shipboard research use
|
Jul
|
Canon Camera Co. Inc. completes prototype 10-key electronic calculator
|
Aug
|
Formal agreement approval
announced
for Singer Corp.'s acquisition of Friden Calculating Machine Co. [16-Aug]
|
Aug
|
Western Electronics Show & Convention (WESCON), Cow Palace, San Francisco, CA [20-23 Aug]
|
|
Diehl Corp. introduces the "Transmatic", a sophisticated four-function electromechanical automatic printing calculator
|
Aug
|
Oi Electric exhibits trial production prototype of
its Aleph Zero
calculator
|
|
Wanderer Werke AG begins production of electromechanical aspects(keyboard/printer/cabinet) of its future Conti
|
>>>
|
electronic printing calculator, pilot production order placed with Labor Für Impulsetecknik
|
>>>
|
(later Nixdorf) for all electronics and power supply
|
|
Fairchild Semiconductor introduces the first RTL (Resistor-Transistor Logic) Flip Flop IC, the 907
|
Sep
|
Project to develop timesharing computing system begins at Dartmouth College directed by John G. Kemeny and
Thomas E. Kurtz (becomes DTSS)
|
|
Thomas Osborne leaves Smith Corona Marchant over his belief that the electronic calculator SCM was developing (which
|
>>>
|
became the
SCM Cogito 240) would be a market faiulure (later proven true)
[2]
|
Oct
|
Japanese Electronics Show, Minato Fairgrounds, Osaka Japan [2-8 Oct]
|
Oct
|
Sale of Friden Calculating Machine Co. to Singer Corp. completed [14-Oct]
|
Oct
|
Philip R. Samwell succeeds Walter S. Johnson as President of Friden Division of Singer Corp.
|
Oct
|
Friden Division of Singer Corp. acquires Physical Sciences Corp. of Arcadia, CA
|
Oct
|
Pyle National announces majority funding of General Micro-electronics [23-Oct]
|
Oct
|
General Micro-electronics announces production of its first MOS IC family, dubbed Picologic
|
Nov
|
17th Annual NEREM (National Electronics Research & Engineering Meeting), Boston, MA [4-6 Nov]
|
Nov
|
Mathatronics Mathatron
formally introduced @ NEREM show, Boston.
|
>>>
|
[Many Firsts: First All-Transistor w/Magnetic Core Memory, "Learn Mode" Stored
|
>>>
|
Program, Floating Decimal, Scientific Notation, Fully Algebraic
Logic w/PEMDAS,
|
>>>
|
Automatic Square Root]
|
|
Massimo Rinaldi sells majority control of his company Transimatic Itialiana to Edison, S.p.A., and assumes Director
|
>>>
|
of Research & Development role. Company changes name to Industrie Macchine Elettroniche, S.p.A. (IME)
|
Dec
|
MOS IC guru Frank Wanlass[5/17/1933-9/9/2010] leaves Fairchild Semiconductor to join
|
>>>
|
General Micro-electronics to advance MOS LSI development
|
|
Exports compose 22% of Japanese electronics output, worth $364M. Japan's imports of electronics from US: $63M
|
|
Bill & Frances Hugle leave Siliconix, the company they founded in March, 1962
|
1964
Jan
|
Thomas Osborne begins development of his electronic calculator design called the
"Green Machine"
(progenitor of HP 9100A)
|
Jan
|
Dartmouth College Receives National Science Foundation Grant for development of timeshared computing system
|
|
Precisa Co. merges with Hermes Typewriter Co. becoming Hermes-Precisa International
|
Feb
|
K&M Electronics founded, developing electronic inventory systems
|
|
Stewart-Warner Microcircuits, an IC manufacturing subsidiary of Stewart-Warner, founded by William and Frances Hugle in Sunnyvale, CA
|
|
The Dual In-Line Package (DIP) for ICs invented at Fairchild Semiconductor R&D Lab
|
|
David Takagishi (later of Cintra, Inc.) begins work at Fairchild Semiconductor
|
|
Signetics opens large IC fabrication facility in Sunnyvale CA
|
|
Union Carbide Electronics created as part of Union Carbide conglomerate, with Jean Hoerni as President
|
|
Dr. Tadashi Sasaki leaves Fujitsu for senior management position at Hayakawa Electric (Sharp)
|
|
Casio has operational prototype of a transistorized desktop calculator
|
|
Wang Laboratories begins development of LOCI-1 Calculator
|
Feb
|
Dartmouth College receives two computers manufactured by General Electric for implementation
|
>>>
|
of timeshared computing system, GE-235(Back-end CPU) and GE Datanet-30(Front-end CPU)
|
Mar
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) shows prototype Compet 10
(Model CS-10A) transistorized electronic calculator and announces production [18-Mar]
|
Mar
|
IEEE International Convention, New York Hilton Hotel & Coliseum [23-26 Mar]
|
Mar
|
Sony shows prototype MD-5 electronic calculator at IEEE International Convention, New York
[Sony's First Publicly Shown Desktop Electronic Calculator]
|
Mar
|
General Electric computers installed in 1700 Sq.Ft. space in
basement of old building at Dartmouth University for implementation
of timeshared computing system
|
Mar
|
Ricoh, in collaboration with Oi Electric Co., Ltd. shows prototype version of
Aleph Zero 101
electronic calculator
[Parametron logic]
|
Apr
|
IBM announces the System/360 (includes Models 30, 40, 50, 60, 62, and 70) [7-Apr]
|
Apr
|
Italy's IME (Industrie Macchine Elettroniche) introduces the IME 84 electronic calculator [10-Apr]
[IME's First Electronic Calculator]
|
Apr
|
Opening of 1964-1665 New York World's Fair & Exposition [22-Apr]
|
Apr
|
Sony shows prototype electronic calculator (MD-6?) in Japanese Pavilion at opening
of New York World's Fair & Exposition [22-Apr]
|
Apr
|
Italy's IME formally announces its IME 84 electronic calculator at the Milan,
|
>>>
|
Italy International Trade Fair (Fiera di Milano) [12 to 25-Apr]
|
Apr
|
Wyle Laboratories demonstrates pre-production
Wyle WS-01 Scientific
rotating magnetic memory-based
|
>>>
|
electronic calculator at Spring Joint Computer Conference, Washington D.C. [21 to 23-Apr]
|
Apr
|
Friden announces the
EC-130 to its sales force
at annual "Fiesta de los Conquistadores" sales convention in Boca Raton, FL. [29-Apr]
|
May
|
Wyle Laboratories announces its WS-01 Scientific electronic calculator
|
May
|
The Dartmouth Time Shared System (DTSS) runs its first BASIC (Beginner's All-Purpose
|
>>>
|
Symbolic Instruction Code) program: "PRINT 2+2" [1-May, 4:00 AM]
|
May
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) formally announces plan to soon introduce
a fully electronic desk calculator, the
Compet CS-10A
[14-May]
[Hayakawa Electric and Japan's first electronic calculator]
|
May
|
Sony announces intent to enter the electronic calculator marketplace [14-May]
|
May
|
Friden formally introduces the
EC-130 electronic calculator in
public event held at the Waldorf-Astoria
|
>>>
|
Hotel in New York City, with retail price of $2,150 [20-May]
[Friden's First Electronic Calculator]
|
May
|
George E. Comstock (Future founder of Diablo Systems) hired at Friden as R&D Director
|
May
|
Canon publicly exhibits prototype of its
Canola 130 at Tokyo Business Machine Show
[Canon's First Electronic Calculator]
|
Jun
|
Friden begins national advertising campaign for the
EC-130
electronic calculator [6-Jun]
|
Jun
|
Fairchild Semiconductor introduces the 930-Series DTL IC Logic family of four different IC's
|
Jun
|
Casio 401 Advanced Relay calculator introduced
|
|
Citizen Business Machines Co., Ltd. established as subsidiary of Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
|
Jun
|
US Patent Office grants Texas Instruments two patents on IC technology
|
|
Autonetics division of North American Aviation, Inc. sets up pilot
microelectronics fabrication line
|
Jul
|
Friden begins internal project E-585, development of the
Friden 1150 IC-based
printing electronic calculator [2-Jul]
|
Jul
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) commences delivery of
Compet 10
(Model CS-10A) electronic
|
>>>
|
calculator in Japan
[Hayakawa Electric's and Japan's first production electronic calculator]
|
|
Soviet "VEGA" electronic calculator begins production
[Soviet Union's First Electronic Calculator]
|
|
Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd. (Toshiba) forms small engineering team
focusing on development of a desktop electronic calculator
|
>>>
|
as a result of Hayakawa Electric's introduction of Japan's first
electronic calculator, the
Sharp Compet 10
|
Aug
|
Western Electronic Show and Convention (WESCON), Los Angeles Sports Arena [25-28 Aug]
|
Aug
|
General Micro-electronics (GM-e) Publicly
introduces
the first commercial "large-scale" MOS IC, the pL20 20-Bit MOS shift register,
at WESCON Show
|
Aug
|
The Friden EC-130 electronic calculator wins Industrial Design award at WESCON Show
|
Aug
|
Hayakawa Electric Co., Ltd. (Sharp) forms Industrial Instrument Division
to focus on electronic calculator business
|
Aug
|
Olivetti's Computer Division sold to General Electric. Electronic calculator team saved from sale at last minute
|
>>>
|
by quietly changing classification of the
Programma 101 project from "computer" to "calculator". [31-Aug]
|
|
Sumlock Comptometer Anita C/IX (Mark 9) debuts
|
Sep
|
Wang Laboratories introduces the
LOCI-1 calculator
[Wang Laboratories' First Electronic Calculator]
|
Oct
|
In-depth article on
Sharp's Compet 10 calculator
written up in Japan's Semiconductor Technique Magazine
|
Oct
|
Victor and General Micro-electronics(GM-e) sign contract for GM-e to develop and produce the
Victor 3900 MOS IC calculator
|
Oct
|
Los Angeles BEMA (Business Equipment Manufacturers Association) show [19-23 Oct]
|
Oct
|
Canon begins sale of the Canola 130 electronic calculator in Japan
|
Oct
|
Texas Instruments begins sale of military-spec SN5400-Series TTL Integrated Circuits in flat-pack packages
|
|
British electronic component manufacturer Mullard Ltd. demonstrates a prototype 12-digit
|
>>>
|
electronic calculator using combination of cold-cathode tubes and transistors.
|
Dec
|
Wanderer-Werke AG publicly shows pre-production prototype of its microcoded Conti electronic printing calculator.
|
>>>
|
Electronic logic and power supply developed by Labor Für Impulstechnik
|
>>> |
(later Nixdorf) under contract to Wanderer Werke. Electronics and power supply hidden under
|
>>>
|
presentation table, with keyboard and printer mechanisms housed in cabinet on table top [7-Dec]
|
Dec
|
British electronic component manufacturer Mullard shows prototype electronic
|
>>>
|
calculator utilizing a mix of thyratrons and transistors
|
Dec
|
Monroe EPIC 2000 calculator introduced [1-Dec]
|
Dec
|
MOS IC innovator Frank Wanlass[5/17/1933-9/9/2010] leaves General Micro-electronics after only one year, moving to General Instrument
|
Dec
|
Arthur Lowell resigns (under pressure) as President of General Micro-electronics
|
Dec
|
James (Phil) Ferguson assumes Presidency of General Micro-electronics
|
Dec
|
Thomas Osborne's
"Green Machine"
calculator prototype becomes fully operational [24-Dec]
[2]
|
Dec
|
Litton Industries announces intent to acquire Royal McBee Corp.
|
|
Wyle Laboratories WS-02 Scientific magnetostrictive delay line-based update of the WS-01 calculator debuts
|
1965
Jan
|
General Micro-electronics
announces
general availability of its pL5000 20-bit MOS Shift Register
[First commercial publicly available MOS Integrated Circuit]
|
|
Thomas Osborne begins showing his
"Green Machine"
electronic calculator to
|
>>>
|
numerous calculator manufacturers in hopes of finding a buyer
|
Jan
|
Wang Laboratories'
LOCI-2
electronic calculator debuts
[Wang Laboratories' First Programmable Calculator]
|
Feb
|
IBM Introduces the famous
|
|
General Micro-electronics (GM-e) completes breadboard prototype design for
|
>>>
|
the
Victor 3900 using its
Milliwatt Logic family of bipolar integrated circuits
|
Mar
|
Litton Industries acquisition of Royal McBee complete. Royal McBee split
into five divisions,
|
>>>
|
with Royal McBee name changed back to Royal Typewriter Division. Other divisions
|
>>>
|
were Roytype Consumer Products, Rotype Supplies, McBee Systems, and RMB.
|
Mar
|
IEEE Annual International Convention, New York, NY [22-26 Mar]
|
Mar
|
Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) introduces its new low-cost transistorized 12-bit minicomputer system, the
PDP-8 ("Straight 8"), $18,500
|
Apr
|
Hannover Fair (Hannover Messe) held in Hannover, West Germany [19-27 Apr]
|
Apr
|
Wanderer-Werke AG formally introduces the Labor für Impulstechnik(LFI),
|
>>>
|
later Nixdorf Computer)-designed Wanderer Conti printing desktop electronic
|
>>>
|
calculator at Hannover Messe(Fair), Hannover, West Germany [19-Apr]
|
Apr
|
Gordon E. Moore(1/3/2029-3/24/2023) of Fairchild Semiconductor has watershed article published in Electronics Magazine
|
>>>
|
that later becomes known as the foundation of
Moore's Law predicting the future incredible growth rate of IC technology
|
Apr
|
Friden EC-132 introduced to Friden sales force at annual sales convention [8-Apr]
|
|
Thomas Osborne joins electronic calculator project at Hewlett Packard as consultant after demonstrating his
|
>>>
|
self-designed & built
"Green Machine"
transistorized electronic calculator (project becomes HP 9100A)
|
|
Fairchild Semiconductor introduces first commercial line of Integrated Circuits using
Dual-Inline Package (DIP) format that the company invented
|
|
Solitron Devices, Inc. purchases Honeywell Semiconductor Products Division
|
|
The transistor-based
Hunor 131,
introduced. Designed by electronics genius
Árpád Klatsmányi
of
Elektronikus Mérőkészülékek Gyára(EMG),
Budapest, Hungary
[Hungary's First Desktop Electronic Calculator]
|
Apr
|
General Micro-electronics delivers first 25 production Victor 3900 calculators to Victor Comptometer
|
|
Bowmar Instrument Corp. purchases Acton Laboratories, Inc (ALI), forming Bowmar/ALI Inc. as
|
>>>
|
wholly-owned subsidiary (Future electronic calculator design/manufacturing arm of Bowmar Instrument Corp.)
|
|
Olympia Werke AG introduces the RAE 4/15
[Olympia's First Electronic Calculator]
|
May
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. shows prototype "Unicon 160" electronic
calculator (precursor to the production Busicom 161)
|
May
|
Former General Micro-electronics co-founder Col. Arthur Lowell assumes role
|
>>>
|
of Executive Director of R&D at North American Aviation's Autonetics diviion
|
May
|
Casio 402 financial math-oriented relay calculator debuts
[Casio's last relay-based calculator]
|
|
AB Åtvidabergs Industrier changes its corporate name to Facit AB
|
|
Clevite Transistor Products sold to ITT Industries
|
|
First operational prototype of Data Acquisition Corporation's
technolologically advanced DAC-512 programmable desktop calculator
|
Jun
|
First customer deliveries of Monroe EPIC 2000 calculators begin
|
Jun
|
Smith Corona Marchant (SCM) announces the
Stanley Frankel-designed
SCM Cogito 240
electronic calculator |
Jun
|
Malcolm McMillan(Physicist) and Jack Volder(CORDIC Algorithm Developer) demo their "Athena" prototype electronic
|
>>>
|
calculator to Hewlett Packard executives. Athena uses McMillan's electronic implementation of Volder's
|
>>>
|
CORDIC algorithms to perform fast fixed point trigonometric functions
|
Jun
|
Inventor/electronics engineer Thomas Osborne demos his personally designed & built
"Green Machine"
floating point
|
>>>
|
electronic calculator prototype at Hewlett Packard with disappointingly little interest
|
Jun
|
Casio Computer Co., Inc. ends nearly eight-year exclusive distribution agreement with Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd.
|
|
Royal McBee acquired by Litton Industries
|
Aug
|
General Electric debuts first commercial timesharing service based on Dartmouth University's DTSS timeshared environment
|
|
Wanderer-Werke AG introduces the transistorized Wanderer Logatronic desk-sized office computer developed by
Labor füur Impulstechnik (LFI, later Nixdorf Computer )
|
|
Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd. (Toshiba) establishes U.S. business presence
|
Sep
|
Caltype Corporation incorporated, subsidiary of Transistron Electronic Corp. [15-Sep]
|
Sep
|
Casio announces the transistorized Casio 001
electronic calculator (Sold only in Japan)
[Casio's first production all-electronic transistorized calculator]
|
Sep
|
Texas Instruments' secret
"Cal-Tech"
skunk-works battery-powered printing handheld electronic calculator project begins
|
Sep
|
Sharp introduces the Compet 20 (CS-20A)
[Sharp's First Use of Silicon Transistors]
|
Oct
|
Sharp Compet 20 shown at Japan's 31st Annual Business Machine Show in Osaka, Japan
|
Oct
|
Seven new desktop electronic calculators shown at BEMA show, New York World's Fair Complex [25-29 Oct]
|
Oct
|
Olivetti Programma 101
introduced and demonstrated in a small area away from
|
>>>
|
Olivetti's main exhibition at BEMA show held at the World's Fair
Complex in New York. Olivetti's highly-refined electromechanical
|
>>>
|
Logos 27 calculator was the primary exhibit. Despite this, the Programma 101
steals the show. [25-Oct]
|
Oct
|
Dero Research & Development introduces the Fairchild RTL IC-based
Sage 1 calculator at BEMA show
[First and Only Electronic Calculator by Dero Research]
|
Oct
|
Victor Comptometer introduces the revolutionary
Victor 3900 at annual
|
>>>
|
Business Equipment Manufacturer's Association (BEMA) show
[First MOS "LSI" IC-Based Electronic Calculator]
|
Oct
|
Wang Laboratories' first public demonstration of new 300-Series Calculator
|
Nov
|
Sharp introduces the Compet 21 (CS-21A), adds square root to the Compet 20
|
|
Hewlett Packard places order for 100
Olivetti Programma 101
calculators ostensibly as "tools for engineers"
|
|
Facit AB cements two year exclusive OEM agreement with Hayakawa Electric (Shapr) to resell electronic calculators under Facit and Addo badges
|
|
After showing his
"Green Machine"
prototype electronic calculator to nearly 30 calculator companies with no interest by any of them,
|
>>>
|
Thomas Osborne is invited to Hewlett Packard to show his machine a second time through
an engineering contact he worked with at SCM
[2]
|
|
Thomas Osborne gives demo of his
"Green Machine"
electronic calculator to Barney Oliver[5/27/1916-11/23-1995 ], leader of HP's
|
>>>
|
secret calculator development project. Demo goes well. Osborne is invited by Oliver
|
>>>
|
to demo his calculator the following day to "Bill and Dave" (not knowing who they are)
|
|
Thomas Osborne dmonstrates his prototype calcualator to "Bill and Dave", whom Osborne discovers
|
>>>
|
are the founders of Hewlett Packard, Bill Hewlett and David Packard.
|
>>>
|
&nbap;
Bill and Dave are impressed, and contract Osborne to participate in a paid six-week evaluation of his design methods
|
>>>
|
&nbap; and logic design of his
"Green Machine"
calculator by the HP calculator engineering team
|
Nov
|
Canon introduces the
Canon 161
transistorized electronic calculator
|
Dec
|
Toshiba introduces its BC-1001 transistorized electronic calculator utilizing uniqu
|
>>>
|
capacitive working register storage system
[Toshiba's first production electronic calculator]
|
|
Combined output of Japanese electronic calculator manufacturers for 1965 is 4,355 machines
|
1966
Jan
|
Hitachi produces its first Integrated Circuits, Emitter Coupled Logic (ECL) bipolar devices, HD101 - HD106
|
|
Six week evaluation of Thomas Osborne's
"Green Machine"
calculator by Hewlett Packard's calculator develeopment team
|
>>>
|
results in his design being enthusiastically embraced. Project is given a green light with Osborne serving as senior
|
>>>
|
design engineer, operating as a consultant to HP
|
Jan
|
Casio √001 calculator introduced
[Casio's First Electronic Calculator with Automatic Square Root]
|
Jan
|
Alan W. Drew appointed President/CEO of Friden Div. of Singer Corp., succeeding Philip R. Samwell
|
Jan
|
Startup founder William B. Hugle displaced as Executive VP at Stewart-Warner Microcircuits in management shuffle
|
Mar
|
sale
of General Micro-electronics to Philco-Ford completed
|
Mar
|
Dr. Gordon Moore(1/3/2029-3/24/2023)
of Fairchild Semiconductor predicts Large Scale Integration will "change the world", adding it will
|
>>>
|
cost ~$30,000,000 per acre for a single chip!
|
Mar
|
Friden begins engineering development program designated E-630 for a new IC-based CRT display calculator
|
>>>
|
initially given the model number 1130, in deference to its predecessor, the
Friden EC-130.
It was subsequently renamed the
Friden 1160
|
>>>
|
after legal concerns over trademark rights relating to
IBM's 1130
computer.
|
Mar
|
Hitachi completes prototype Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) IC-based desktop electronic calculator using ICs it manufactured
|
Mar
|
Wang Laboratories begins production of transistorized
300-Series
calculators
|
|
Sumlock Anita Electronics Ltd. formed out of Bell Punch Co., Ltd. to design and build electronic calculators
|
|
Industria Macchine Elettroniche (IME) introduces the transistorized
IME 86/IME 86-S calculators
|
|
Due to cash problems, Commodore's founder & CEO, Jack Tramiel, sells 17% of
the company to Canadian investor Irving Gould
|
|
Unoke Denshi Kogyo(USAC Electronic Industrial Co., Ltd.) produces its first
|
>>>
|
electronic billing machine, sold through marketing agreeement with Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd.
|
|
Radio and TV manufacturing joint venture between Hayakawa Electric Co., Ltd. (Sharp) and
|
>>>
|
Olims Electronics (Australia) begins licensed manufacture and sale of Sharp-designed electronic calculators
|
>>>
|
under the Sharp brand name in Australia, beginning with the
Sharp Compet 20
|
|
Data Acquisition Corp.
introduces the
technologically advanced
DAC-512 programmable desktop calculator
|
May
|
Hayakawa Electric(Sharp) announces availability of its new
Sharp Compet 30
(Model CS-30A) transistorized electronic calculator
|
May
|
Casio 164 transistorized electronic calculator introduced
[Casio's first calculator to utilize magnetic core memory]
|
May
|
Diehl introduces the
Combitron
transistorized electronic programmable printing desktop calculator
|
>>>
|
with extremely elegant electronic design by
Stanley Frankel
[Diehl's first electronic calculator]
|
|
Hayakawa Electric(Sharp) announces an update to the
Compet 30
(CS-30A) designated Model CS-30B, providing support
|
>>>
|
for negative numbers, and adding error and memory register status indicators to the left of the display panel
|
Jun
|
Introduction of the Stanley Frankel-designed SCM (Smith-Corona Marchant)
Cogito 240
and Cogito 240SR
|
>>>
|
transistorized electronic calculators
[SCM's first electronic calculators]
|
Jun
|
Toshiba introduces BCT-1211 8-Terminal transistorized timeshared calculator system
[World's first timeshared multi-console calculator system]
|
Jun
|
Wyle Laboratories
purchases
36,500 shares of its own common stock
|
>>>
|
to end long-standing litigation with prior ownership of Liberty Electronics, purchased by Wyle Labs in January, 1962
|
Jun
|
Wanderer Werke AG begins full-scale production of its Wanderer Conti printing electronic calculator
|
Jun
|
Friden partners with Texas Instruments for development & manufacture of
custom TTL Ring-Counter IC's
|
>>>
|
for use in next generation of IC-based calculators
|
Jul
|
Transistorized Casio 101
introduced in Japan
[Casio's first export-ready electronic calculator]
|
Jul
|
Friden introduces the 1217 printing electromechanical calculator to limited regional markets
[Friden's Last Electromechanical Printing Calculator]
|
Jul
|
Chip maker American Micro-systems Inc. (AMI) founded in Santa Clara, California, led by ex-General Micro-electronics
|
>>>
|
co-founder Howard Bobb, and Warren Wheeler
|
Jul
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co., Ltd. (NCM) introduces the transistorized
Busicom 161 electronic calculator
|
>>>
|
produced by its ElectroTechnical Industries division
[NCM's first production electronic calculator]
|
Jul
|
Mathatronics, Inc., purchased by Barry Wright Corp., becomes Mathatronics
division of Barry Wright Corp.
|
|
Canon U.S.A., Inc. Incorporated
|
|
Hugle Industries, Inc. founded by William and Frances Hugle to manufacture IC fabrication equipment
|
|
Facit AB acquires AB Addo, a competing Swedish mechanical calculating
machine company
|
Aug
|
Western Electronics Show and Convention (WESCON), Sports Arena & Hollywood Park, Los Angeles, CA USA [23-26 Aug]
|
|
Sumlock Comptometer introduces the Anita C/XII (Mark 12)
[Sumlock's first all-transistor calculator]
|
Sep
|
ISE Electronics Corp. (Iseden) founded, inventor of Vacuum Fluorescent
Display(VFD) indicator devices
|
Sep
|
Casio make first export shipment of its
Casio 101
electronic calculators to Australia where they
|
>>>
|
are sold under the Remington brand name
[First Casio electronic calculator sold outside Japan]
|
Sep
|
Japan Electronics Show, Tokyo, Japan [20-29 Sep]
|
|
SCM (Smith-Corona Marchant) begins fulfilling orders for the
Cogito 240
and Cogito 240SR
electronic calculators
|
Sep
|
Casio introduces the
Casio 101E (Marketed by Commodore as the
Commodore 500E)
|
Oct
|
Japanese Business Machines Exhibition, Toronto, Canada
|
Oct
|
Nortec Electronics Corp. incorporated, founded by Robert Norman[3/24/1927-1/21/2017]
[13-Oct]
|
Oct
|
Sanyo exhibits prototype version of its upcoming DK-141 transistorized electronic calculator
|
Oct
|
Hayakawa Electric(Sharp) announces the Japan-only
Sharp Compet 31
(CS-31A), an update to the Compet 30 Model CS-30B using Mitsubishi-made
|
>>>
|
small-scale bipolar TTL ICs to replace transistorized memory register logic of
the CS-30B. [Hayakawa Electric's Calculator to Use ICs]
|
Oct
|
Brother International (Japan) introduces its first mass-market electronic calculator, the
transistorized
Calther 130
|
Oct
|
Litton Industries Royal Typewriter division announces plans to acquire
UK typewriter manufacturer Imperial
|
Oct
|
50th Anniversary BEMA Exposition, McCormick Place, Chicago [18-20 Oct]
|
|
Texas Instruments Begins Sale of 7400-Series TTL ICs in plastic Dual-Inline
(DIP) packages
|
Nov
|
Wang announces availability of the model 320SE 4-user Simultaneous "Time Shared"
calculator system
|
Nov
|
Sharp introduces the
Compet 15
"budget-friendly" electronic calculator
|
Nov
|
Toshiba introduces the
BC-1411
electronic calculator
|
Dec
|
Rough prototype of Texas Instruments
"Cal-Tech"
electronic calculator is operational
|
|
Facit AB begins marketing Sharp-manufactured electronic calculators through
OEM agreement with Hayakawa Electric (Sharp)
|
Dec
|
Rumors
surface that Hewlett Packard is developing a sophisticated desktop electronic
calculator
|
>>>
|
(becomes the HP 9100A,
announced
on 3/11/1968)
|
|
Combined output of Japanese electronic desktop calculator manufacturers
for 1966 is 25,532 machines
|
1967
Jan
|
Hitachi introduces KK-12 (ELCA-12) transistorized electronic calculator
in Japan. Imported by Friden to become the
Friden 1112
[Hitachi's First Production Electronic Calculator]
|
Feb
|
Canon announces it will begin sale of its new
Canola 167 magnetic-drum-based
calculator in Japan.
|
Feb
|
Sharp begins Japan-only sales of the
Compet 31 (CS-31A) using
Mitsubishi small-scale bipolar IC-based memory register
|
Feb
|
Victor Comptometer and General Micro-electronics explain lack of deliveries of
Victor 3900 introduced in October, 1965
|
Mar
|
International IEEE Convention Exhibition, New York Coliseum/Hilton
Hotel [20-23 Mar]
|
Mar
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) shows prototype 12-digit calculator using
small-scale Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) Integrated Circuits
|
>>>
|
manufactured by Nippon Electric, Co., Ltd. (NEC)
|
|
Picker X-Ray Changes Name to Picker Corp.
|
Mar
|
Wang Laboratories introduces its new modular 4000 Computer System based on 300-Series calculator logic
|
Mar
|
Canon introduces its transistorized Canola 151 (reduced capacity version of the
Canon 161
|
|
The Floppy Disk (8-inch) invented at IBM by Alan Shugart
|
|
Commodore Business Machines enters OEM agreement with Casio for sales
of Casio calculators under the Commodore brand in US & Canada |
Mar
|
Texas Instruments completes first operational "
Cal-Tech"
proof-of-concept bipolar LSI IC-based printing electronic calculator [29-Mar]
|
>>>
|
[World's First LSI Bipolar IC-Based Handheld
Battery-Powered Printing Electronic Calculator (Not marketed)]
|
Mar
|
Texas Instruments' first showing of
"Cal-Tech" proof-of-concept electronic calculator
|
|
Sharp introduces a new version of the Compet 30, the Model CS-30B, with some
improvements over the early Model CS-30A
|
>>>
|
including true negative number handling and a memory active indicator.
|
Apr
|
Uchida Yoko introduces the
USAC 10B
small-scale IC-based electronic desk calculator utilizing Fairchild Semiconductor's
"µLogic" RTL (Resistor-Transistor Logic) family ICs
[Uchida Yoko's First Electronic Calculator, First primarily IC-based Japanese Electronic Calculator]
|
|
Sony applies with Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) for grant funding relating
|
>>>
|
to development of electronic calculator utilizing Large Scale Integration(LSI) Integrated Circuits
|
Apr
|
Masatoshi Shima joins Computer Division of Nippon Calculating Machine Co.
as Computer Programmer
|
May
|
Sony Corp. issues Press Release Announcing the
ICC-500W Electronic Calculator. [15-May]
|
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) applies to Japan's MITI (Ministry of International Trade and Industry) for grant to fund development of Large Scale Integration(LSI) miniature calculator
|
|
Facit renews its agreement with Sharp for marketing of Sharp-made calculators
under the Facit brand after previous two-year agreement expires
|
|
Federico Faggin joins SGS-Fairchild in Italy
|
|
North American Aviation and Rockwell-Standard Merge to form North American Rockwell Corp.
|
|
Data Acquisition Corp. acquired by Picker Corp., placed in company's Picker Nuclear Division
|
|
Data Acquisition Corp's
DAC-512
calculator re-badged and marketed as a Picker Nuclear product
|
|
Chip maker Intersil founded by Jean Hoerni to develop ICs for electronic watches
|
|
Chip maker Electronic Arrays, Mountain View, California, founded, formerly
McMullen Associates
|
Jun
|
Tateisi Electronics Co., (Omron) begins secret development project to create an electronic calculator within its
|
>>>
|
R&D Department at direction of President of Omron, Mr. Tateisi
|
Jun
|
First ever Consumer Electronics Show(CES), New York
|
Jun
|
Toshiba introduces its
BC-1201 transistorized
electronic calculator
|
Jun
|
Sony Corp. formally introduces the
SOBAX ICC-500
hybrid circuit electronic calculator [1-Jun]
[Sony's First Production Electronic Calculator]
|
Jun
|
Sony introduces the
SOBAX ICC-400,
identical to the ICC-500,
omitting Sum-of-Products function key
|
Jul
|
Wang Laboratories begins publishing
"The Wang Laboratories Programmer" periodical
|
|
David Shapiro leaves Mathatronics
|
Jul
|
Autonetics division of North American Rockwell announces intention to
enter custom MOS and SOS(Silicon-on-Sapphire) IC design & production market
|
|
Casio opens first European sales office in Switzerland, begins exporting
electronic calculators into Europe |
Jul
|
Wang Labs announces the
transistorized Model 370 programmer for the
300-Series calculators
|
Aug
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) introduces the mostly transistorized (with a few Mitsubishi-made small-scale bipolar ICs) Compet 32
(CS-32A) [14-Aug]
|
>>>
|
[Sharp's first production use of Magnetic Core Memory, Bit-Serial Architecture, Multiplexed Display]
|
Aug
|
Western Electronic Show and Convention (WESCON), Cow Palace & Hilton Hotel, San Francisco, California [22-25 Aug]
|
Aug
|
SCM
introduces the
Cogito 566 PR, a re-badged OEM version of the
Diehl Combitron [24-Aug]
|
Aug
|
Wang Laboratories first publicly demonstrates the 370 Programmer at
WESCON show in San Francisco, CA
|
Aug
|
Wang Laboratories listed publicly on the New York Stock Exchange,
Announces issue of 240,000 shares of Common Stock at $12.50/share [27-Aug]
|
Sep
|
Initial shipment of Hayakawa Electric Sharp Compet 32 calculators to US market halted at request of
|
>>>
|
Mitsubishi over fears of Texas Instruments patent infringement litigation
over bipolar IC technology used in the calculator
|
Sep
|
Lee Boysel of Fairchild Semiconductor writes proposal for MOS IC-based computer chip-set
|
Sep
|
Sperry-Remington forms OEM relationship Casio Calculating Machine, Co.
|
Sep
|
Nippon Electric Co. (NEC) produces 250,000 Integrated Circuits in month of
September, 1967
|
Sep
|
Japan Electronics Show, Osaka Japan [28-Sep - 4-Oct]
|
Oct
|
Japanese Business Machines Show at Japanese Trade Center, Chicago, IL
[9-13 Oct]
|
Oct
|
9th Annual
BEMA (Business Equipment Manufacturers
Assoc.) Show, New York [23-27 Oct]
|
Oct
|
Friden introduces the 1217 electromechanical printing calculator to the US market
|
Oct
|
7th Annual Japan Business Machine Show, Tokyo, Japan [25-28 Oct]
|
|
Sumlock Comptometer adds Wanderer-Werke Conti printing electronic calculator
to its line of calculating machines
|
Oct
|
Masatoshi Shima transfers to calculator design division of Nippon Calculating Machine Co.
|
Oct
|
Casio AL-1000
transistorized programmable calculator
debuts
[Casio's First Programmable Electronic Calculator]
|
Nov
|
21st Annual NEREM show, Boston War Memorial Auditorium [1-3 Nov]
|
Nov
|
James (Phil) Ferguson leaves position as General Manager of Philco-Ford Microelectronics ostensibly to spend more time with family
|
Nov
|
Cintra, Inc. founded by Irwin Wunderman in his garage, manufacturing digital photonic measurement instruments
|
Nov
|
Japan's Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. registers trade name "Denon"
|
Nov
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. introduces the
Busicom 141
transistorized calculator, a 14-digit version of its original 16-digit Busicom 161
|
Nov
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. (NCM) announces the Wyle Laboratories-designed
Busicom 162, eventually sold through OEM agreement to
|
>>>
|
National Cash Register (NCR) who repackaged and sold it as the Model
18-2,
[NCM's First IC-Based Electronic Calculator]
|
Nov
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co.(NCM) introduces the small-scale DTL IC-based
Busicom 202
CRT-display calculator, designed by Wyle Laboratories under contract to NCM
|
|
Toshio Iue, Founder/CEO of Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd, steps down, relinquishes
CEO role to his brother, Yuro
|
Nov
|
Monroe Calculator Co. holds sales convention at Diplomat Hotel, Hollywood, Florida
[26-Nov to 1-Dec]
|
Dec
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) introduces
Compet 16 (CS-16A)
[Sharp's First use of Japanese-made MOS Integrated Circuits in Production Electronic Calculator]
|
1968
Jan
|
Sanyo announces entry into electronic calculator marketplace with three machines to debut in early spring, 1968
|
|
Hayakawa Electric's (Later, Sharp) Tadashi Sasaki arranges $40M Yen (Approx. $110,000 US)
"under-the-table" funding to Nippon Calculating Machine Co. (Busicom)
|
Feb
|
Federico Faggin moves from Italy to California to work at Fairchild Semiconductor on development of Silicon-Gate MOS integrated circuit technology
|
Feb
|
Singer/Friden internally announces the small/medium-scale DTL/TTL IC-based
1150
printing calculator at MSRP of $1,495 [8-Feb]
|
Mar
|
The American Calculator Corp. of Dallas, TX incorporated [6-Mar]
|
Mar
|
Dr. An Wang, CEO of Wang Laboratories, given sneak preview of Hewlett Packard 9100A electronic calculator at
|
>>>
|
calculator at the IEEE Conference in New York, NY by Hewlett Packard founder, Bill Hewlett[5/20/1913-1/12/2001]
|
Mar
|
Hewlett Packard (HP) formally announces the amazing 9100A electronic calculator
[HP's First Electronic Calculator, Revolutionary Capabilities] [11-Mar]
|
Mar
|
Early Production Hewlett Packard 9100A first shown to limited audience at IEEE Conference in New York [March 18-21]
|
Mar
|
Singer and General Precision Equipment Corp. (GPE) agree in principal for Singer to acquire GPE [26-Mar]
|
Mar
|
Singer/Friden internally announces the
1151 programmable printing desktop calculator at MSRP of $1,795
|
Mar
|
Canon introduces the
Canola 130S transistorized electronic calculator
|
Mar
|
Wang Laboratories introduces
Model 380 programmer console for
300-Series
calculators at New York IEEE Conference [20-Mar]
|
|
Japanese domestic integrated circuit production surpasses number of imported ICs
|
Apr
|
ElectroTechnical Industries (ETI) (not to be confused with Japan's Electrotechnical
|
>>>
|
Laboratory) established for Electronic Calculator development & manufacturing, associated with Nippon Calculating Machine Co. (Busicom) Tokyo, Japan
|
Apr
|
Canon 161S and Canola 163
calculators announced in Japan [1-Apr]
|
Apr
|
Burroughs signs
agreement with Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) for Sharp to design & manufacture calculators for Burroughs
|
Apr
|
Harold Koplow[11/21/1940-11/4/2004] begins employment at Wang Laboratories
|
>>>
|
as calculator application programmer for
Wang 300-Series calculators
|
Apr
|
Agreement reached for Labor für Impulstechnik (LFI) (later Nixdorf) to purchase business machines division of Wanderer-Werke AG for 17.2M DM
|
>
Apr
|
Tokyo Shibaura Mfg. Co. (Toshiba) introduces its stylish BC-1412 transistorized electronic calculator
|
Apr
|
Tokyo Shibaura Mfg. Co. (Toshiba) introduces its high-end transistorized
desktop electronic calculator, the BC-1621 transistorized electronic calculator
|
Apr
|
Sanyo introduces
ICC-141
and ICC-161 calculators using MOS shift register IC made by
Philco-Ford Microelectronics(formerly General Micro-electronics)
|
Apr
|
Sanyo introduces its ICC-121 and ICC-141 calculators utilizing incandescent-lit mosaic display
|
Apr
|
Wang Laboratories announces the 379-5 Output Writer, a modified IBM Selectric
typewriter used for programmed output from the 370 and 380 Programmer consoles
|
|
Realtone Electronics Corp. formally changes company name to Soundesign Corp., AMEX stock symbol SON
|
May
|
Canon begins sales of the Small-Scale bipolar IC-based Canon 163(US $958) and Canon 161S(US $764) in Japan [1-May]
|
May
|
Wang 362E
introduced
|
May
|
General Precision Equipment Co. and Singer Co. announce merger [10-May]
|
May
|
Casio introduces the
Casio 152
calculator
|
May
|
Tadashi Sasaki (Sharp) travels to US seeking IC manufacturer to layout and fabricate LSI ICs for miniaturized electronic calculator
|
|
Tyco Laboratories, Inc. acquires magnetostrictive delay line manufacturer Digital Devices
|
|
Tokyo Electronic Applications Laboratory (TEAL), Tokyo, Japan, established by Hayakawa Electric's Tadashi Sasaki
|
>>>
|
to manufacture electronic calculators as an OEM producer
|
|
Wang Laboratories acquires substantial share of disk drive manufacturer
Digital Information Storage Corp.
|
|
Uchida Yoko acquires Japanese distribution rights for the Seiko S-300 Programmable Electronic Printing calculator
|
|
David Takagishi joins Cintra, Inc. as electronics engineer on design team for
the
Cintra 909
calculator
|
|
Computer Design Corp.
founded, spin-off of Wyle Laboratories Calculator Products Division
|
|
Broughton & Co. (Bristol) Ltd. and Nippon Calculating Machine Co.(NCM) joint venture formed to market NCM electronic calculators under the Busicom brand calculating machines in North America
|
|
Futaba Denshi begins manufacture of gas-discharge display devices
|
|
Facit AB builds a large new calculator factory in Sweden
|
|
Wang Laboratories rattled by rumor that Digital Equipment Corp.(DEC) is working on
developing a "Desk Calculator".
The rumored calculator actually turned out to be the extremely popular
DEC PDP-11
16-bit mini-computer
|
May
|
Japanese Business Machine Show, Harumi Fairground, Tokyo (14 Manufacturers, 34 Models of electronic calculators)
|
May
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) introduces the
Compet 50, Model CS-50A
Printing Electronic Calculator
[Sharp's first Printing Electronic Calculator]
|
Jun
|
Ray Holt & Steve Geller of Garrett AiResearch begin work on Top-Secret US
Government project to develop what becomes a very sophisticated MOS Large-Scale
|
>>>
|
Integration(LSI) microprocessor chip set for the flight control system in
the Navy F-14A Tom Cat jet fighter
|
Jun
|
Philco-Ford Corp.
shuts down production
of the history-making
Victor 3900, the
world's first MOS Large-Scale Integration(LSI) electronic calculator
|
Jun
|
Wang Laboratories closes purchase of Philip Hankins, Inc. (PHI). Dave Moros from PHI instrumental in development
of future Wang Calculator architectures [20-Jun]
|
|
Sharp introduces its
Compet 22
(Model CS-22A) electronic calculator
|
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) selects Autonetics division of North American Rockwell
for development of an advanced LSI calculator chip set
|
Jul
|
Tateisi Electronics Co., R&D department completes secret delveopment projecproducing a prototype electronic calculator designated as OMRAC 777
|
Jul
|
Compucorp
incorporated as business unit of Computer Design Corporation, with Elmer Easton(President),
Norman J. Grannis(VP)[3/23/1935-2/19/2001],
|
Jul
|
Roger Keenan(Finance), Kasper Terhorst(Director) and Cynthia Wells(Secretary) as principals [5-Jul]
|
Jul
|
Singer Corp. acquires General Precision Equipment Corp.
|
Jul
|
Bob Noyce and Dr. Gordon Moore(1/3/2029-3/24/2023) found "N M Electronics", the genesis of Intel Corp. [18-Jul]
|
Jul
|
Sony introduces the
SOBAX ICC-600
calculator
|
Jul
|
Canon
introduces
the Canola 161S and
Canola 163
calculators for sale in USA
|
Jul
|
Singer Corp. completes acquisition of General Precision Equipment Corp. (including Librascope, Inc., The Kearfott Co., Inc., and Link Flight Simulation)
|
Jul
|
Computer Terminals Corp. (Later Datapoint Corp.) founded by Phil Ray and Austin("Gus") Roche in San Antonio, TX USA,
|
>>>
|
to develop low-cost CRT-display electronic data terminals to replace the noisy electro-mechanical
|
>>>
|
Teletype Model 33-ASR commonly used as data terminals for computer systems
|
Jul
|
Hitachi introduces the KK-22 (ELCA-22) calculator in Japan. Imported and sold by Friden as the
Friden EC-1113
|
Jul
|
National Cash Register (NCR) signs
agreement
with Nippon Calculating Machine Co. for sale of NCM manufactured calculators under NCR brand name in North America
|
|
Brother Industries acquires UK-based Jones Sewing Machine Co.
|
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. forms Business Computer Corp., a.k.a. Busicom USA, for US market expansion
|
Aug
|
NM Electronics renamed Intel [6-Aug]
|
Aug
|
Western Electronic Show and Convention (WESCON), Los Angeles, CA [20-23 Aug]
|
|
Okaya Electric Industries Co., Tokyo Japan, introduces a new cold-cathode segmented display tube it calls
|
>>>
|
"Elfin", challenging Burroughs' ubiquitous Nixie tube for calculator displays |
Aug
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co./Busicom introduces follow-on machine, the
Busicom 162C electronic calculator, removing the square root function of
|
>>>
|
the earlier Busicom 162, by simply omitting the key
on the keyboard
|
Sep
|
Denon announces the
DEC-61A4
electronic calculator
[Denon's First Electronic Calculator]
|
Sep
|
Japanese Electronics Show, Tokyo, Japan [17-23 Sep]
|
Sep
|
Hayakawa Electric Co., Ltd. (later Sharp Corp.) announces "Memorizer 30" and "Memorizer 60"
|
>>>
|
auxiliary programmers for its
and Compet 32 calculators
|
Sep
|
Shinshu Seiki Co., Ltd. (later Epson) announces the historic
EP-101
digital printer, providing a simple, compact,
|
>>>
|
reliable and easily-interfaced printing solution for electronic calculators and any other device
that required (mostly numeric) printing capability in a small package.
|
Sep
|
Hewlett Packard 9100A documented in HP's corporate technology publication, the
Hewlett Packard Journal September, 1968
|
Sep
|
Wang Laboratories stock begins trading on the American Stock Exchange [10-Sep]
|
Sep
|
Dr. An Wang granted US Patent
3,402,285
for principles of Wang LOCI calculator,
|
>>>
|
including novel logarithm/anti-logarithm generation logic [17-Sep]
[Wang Labs' First Calculator Patent]
|
Oct
|
Labor für Impulstechnik (LFI) formally closes purchase of business machines division Wanderer-Werke AG [1-Oct]
|
Oct
|
Wang Laboratories introduces
360SE
four-user simultaneous electronics package extension of the earlier 320SE
[Last Wang Labs 300-Series Calculator]
|
Oct
|
Lee Boysel and two other MOS engineers leave Fairchild Semiconductor to form Four-Phase
Systems to develop
|
>>>
|
computer systems based on VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) building block ICs
|
Oct
|
Computer Design Corp. [CDC](spun off from Wyle Laboratories) and Nippon Calculating Machine Co. [NCM]
forge agreement
for CDC to design and build advanced calculators for NCM
|
Oct
|
Labor für Impulstechnik (LFI) renamed Nixdorf Computer AG
|
|
Tadashi Sasaki (Hayakawa Electric/Sharp) meets with Robert Noyce and Bob Graham (Intel) and Yoshio Kojima
|
>>>
|
(Nippon Calculating Machine Co./Busicom) concerning use of large-scale MOS ICs in electronic calculators
|
|
Japanese government-owned Research & Development Corp. grants Toshiba and Hitachi Ltd. $900,000 each to develop Ion-Implantation semiconductor fabrication techniques
|
|
Victor Comptometer acquires exclusive distribution rights from Nixdorf Computer AG for sale of the Wanderer Conti
printing electronic calculator as the Victor 1500
|
Nov
|
Tateisi Electronics Co. establishes trade name of Omron Tateisi Electronics Co.
|
Dec
|
Toshiba introduces its BC-1401 calculator
[Toshiba's First MOS IC-Based Calculator][1-Dec]
|
Dec
|
Uchida Yoko, Co., Ltd. introduces the USAC-22B electronic calculator
|
Dec
|
Passing of Kiyoshi Ichimura, Founder of Riken Kankoshi Co., Ltd. (later Ricoh Co., Ltd.) [16-Dec]
|
|
Total value of electronic calculators produced in Japan for 1968: $71M
|
1969
Jan
|
Litton Industries acquires German typewriter manufacturer Triumph Adler
|
Jan
|
Singer Co. board of directors changes status of Friden, Inc. from fully-owned subsidiary to the Friden Division of Singer Co. [1-Jan]
|
Jan
|
MOS Technology, Inc. incorporated, founded by three former General Instrument executives [16-Jan]
|
Jan
|
Wang Laboratories introduces 200-Series "business" calculators based on 300-Series calculators
|
Jan
|
Sony introduces the ICC-500A, a cost-reduced version of the
ICC-500
|
Jan
|
Wang Laboratories announces CP-2 Card Programmer for 200/300-Series calculators
|
Feb
|
Hugle Industries, Inc. establishes Japanese subsidiary Hugle Electronics, Inc. in Tokyo, Japan
|
Feb
|
U.S. Patent
3,430,095
granted to to Jack J. Bialik[7/20/1924-1/4/2010],
Dale P. Masher[4/14/1929-3/30/2014],
|
>>>
|
and Bill W. Stevens, all
of Stanford Research Institute, who developed the display subsystem developed for
Friden's Friden EC-130 under contract to Friden
electronic calculator [25-Feb]
|
|
Hitachi New York, Ltd. renamed Hitachi America, Ltd.
|
Feb
|
The Singer Co. formally adopts a new logo for Friden, with a larger SINGER with "FRIDEN DIVISION" in smaller letters beneath
|
Feb
|
Friden announces market availability of the Hitachi-manufactured Friden 1113
|
Feb
|
Wang 700 calculator announced, not actually available until nearly a year later
|
Feb
|
Four Phase Systems, Inc. incorporated, founded by Lee Boysel and associates
|
|
Massimo Rinaldi leaves IME to form new company building computer systems, Industria Sistemi Elettronici (INSEL), SpA, in Rome.
|
Feb
|
Busicom (ElectroTechnical Industries) introduces the Wyle Laboratories-designed Busicom 207 and 2017 punched-card programmable electronic calculators
|
Feb
|
Hitachi introduces the first Japanese-made minicomputer, the transistorized
HITAC 10
|
Feb
|
Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) approves
Hayakawa Electric's (Sharp) request for government funding
|
>>>
|
assistance to develop a Large Scale Integration (LSI)-based
miniature electronic calculator
|
Feb
|
Japan's MITI approves Hayakawa Electric's request to engage Autonetics division of
North American Rockwell
|
>>>
|
to develop custom MOS large-scale ICs for a new miniature calculator
|
Mar
|
Arthur Lowell resigns as Director of Microelectronics Applications and Advanced Products at Autonetics
|
Mar
|
1969 IEEE International Convention and Exhibition, New York, NY [24-27 Mar]
|
Mar
|
Autonetics Division of North American Rockwell receives $30M from Hayakawa
Electric Co., Ltd. (Sharp) for
|
>>>
|
LSI Calculator integrated circuit development, some of which
comes from Japanese Government (MITI) grant to Hayakawa Electric
|
Mar
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) exhibits prototype "miniature desk calculator" using
eleven Hitachi-made MOS highly-integrated ICs at IEEE Expo in New York
(precursor to the historical Sharp QT-8D)
|
Mar
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) announces (though it is far from production) its historical "micro-Compet"
Sharp QT-8D in the US at New York IEEE
|
>>>
|
trade show, sales in Japan tentatively estimated to begin in August [27-Mar]
|
Mar
|
Fujitsu introduces its entry into the Japanese minicomputer market, the
FACOM R, utilizing
|
>>>
|
domestically-produced small-scale bipolar TTL integrated circuits, first of its kind for Japan
|
Mar
|
Wang Laboratories, Inc., acquires Medical Systems and Data Corp. of Boston, MA
|
|
Bob Cole(Fairchild) and Don Borror(GM-e/Philco Microelectronics) start up IC mask making & foundry Cartesian, Inc.
|
|
Union Carbide Electronics' MOS Devices Division(San Diego, CA) sold to Solitron Devices, Inc.
|
|
Amidst rabid competition in the calculator market, Italy's IME begins phasing
out production of its electronic calculators
|
|
R.ohm (Toyo Electronics Industry, Japan) begins development of Integrated
Circuit technology |
|
North American Philips Corp. formed as merger of Consolidated Electric Co., and North American Philips Co., Inc.
|
|
ISE Electronics licenses Vacuum Fluorescent Display technology to Futaba Denshi
|
Mar
|
Omron Tateisi Electronics Co. shows prototype of the
Omron 1210 electronic calculator
|
Mar
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. (NCM) forges secret contract with Wyle
Laboratories of El Segundo, California for realization of NCM's
|
>>>
|
block-level design of a complex configurable Large Scale
Integration calculator chip set estimated by NCM to require
twelve chips (before engaging Intel with same project)
|
Apr
|
All of Autonetics' microelectronics activities rolled into a completely new Microelectronics Products Division with
|
>>>
|
Sam Carlson named as GM. Autonetics' aviation, navigation, and space systems remain under the Autonetics umbrella.
|
Apr
|
VEB Kombinat Robotron formed as a large conglomerate of German Office & Data Processing Companies [1-Apr]
|
Apr
|
Intel introduces its first generally-available product, the
Intel 3101 bipolar 64-bit Random Access Memory (RAM) chip
|
Apr
|
First operating prototype of Top Secret state-of-the-art American Micro-systems(AMI)-fabricated MOS/LSI microprocessor chip set for
|
>>>
|
the US Navy F-14A Tom Cat air superiority fighter flight control
system, the (MP-944 CADC) [One of a number of early multi-chip microprocessors realized before the Intel 4004]
|
Apr
|
M. Shima, H. Masuda, and S. Takayama from Nippon Calculating Machine Co.(NCM), Japan, visit Intel
|
>>>
|
concerning development of proposed seven-chip MOS LSI
calculator chipset designed by NCM calculator architecture design team
|
Apr
|
Provisional agreement forged between Intel and Nippon Calculating Machine Co.
(NCM) signed for Intel to develop and fabricate a complex configurable
|
>>>
|
MOS/LSI calculator chip set based on architecture developed by NCM
|
Apr
|
SCM Cogito 414 electronic calculator introduced [23-Apr] [Very early LSI chipset on eight chips fabricated by AMI]
|
May
|
Sharp announces the Compet 361, Model CS-361), first of a series of Compet 361 electronic calculators [16-May]
|
May
|
Friden announces the CRT-display Friden 1160 electronic calculator to its sales force [20-May]
|
May
|
Wang Laboratories introduces model 301 Column Printer for Wang 200/300-Series calculators
|
|
Casio announces the programmable AL-2000 electronic calculator
|
May
|
Uchida Yoko exits calculator market after just two years
|
May
|
Shinshu Seiki Co., Ltd. (later Epson) shows revolutionary
EP-101 printer at 38th Business Show in Tokyo
|
May
|
Casio introduces the Casio 121-A/AS-A calculator
|
|
Citizen Business Machines Co., Ltd. establishes US sales company CBM America Corp.
|
|
Universal Electronic Industry Co., Ltd., a.k.a. Unitron founded in Taiwan
[1]
|
|
Unoke Denshi Kogyo changes name to USAC Electronic Industrial Co., Ltd.
|
May
|
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) founded in Sunnyvale, CA
|
Jun
|
Mostek founded in Worcester, Massachusetts by ex-Texas Instruments employees with significant funding from Sprague Electric Co.
|
Jun
|
Barry Wright Corp. announces negotiations to sell Mathatronics calculator division to a small private investment group
|
Jun
|
Completion of Top Secret project to develop what is one of the first MOS/LSI
microprocessors, the
MP944 CADC (Central Air Data Computer),
|
>>>
|
developed by Garrett AiResearch and fabricated by American Micro-systems,
Inc.(AMI), used in flight control system of the new US Navy F-14A Tom Cat fighter jet
fighter
|
Jun
|
SCM Introduces the 1016PR Programmable Calculator utilizing mostly small-scale DTL IC logic, $2,495 [18-Jun]
|
Jun
|
Sony introduces the ICC-510 Electronic Calculator
|
Jun
|
The Friden division of Singer Co. announces it will build a new plant for electronic calculators in Albuquerque, NM
|
Jun
|
Annual Consumer Electronics Show, New York Hilton Hotel [28 Jun-1 Jul]
|
Jul
|
Matsushita begins first shipments of an electronic calculator it manufactures
for Olympia, to be sold by Olympia in its markets as the Olympia ICR-412
|
Jul
|
Toshio Iue, founder of Sanyo, passes away at age 66 [16-Jul]
|
Jul
|
Casio's AL-2000 Programmable Calculator available for sale
|
|
Chipmaker Microsystems International Ltd.(MIL) founded in Ottowa, Canada, a spinoff of Northern Electric Co. Ltd., part of Bell Canada
|
Jul
|
Dictaphone Corp. announces entry into the electronic calculator business, marketing two calculators manufactured by Sanyo under Dictaphone badge [29-Jul]
|
Jul-Aug
|
Hayakawa Electric rejects all MOS LSI chips produced by Autonetics in July & August for its upcoming
QT-8D
"Micro-Compet" calculator as having an excessive failure rate,
|
>>>
|
forcing Hayakawa Electric to delay introduction of the calculator from August to October (actually December)
|
Aug
|
Sanyo reaches licensing agreement with chipmaker General Instrument to import, and later to locally manufacture, MOS LSI calculator chipset
|
Aug
|
Founding of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) by Ed Roberts and three other partners
|
Aug
|
Hitachi introduces the KK-24 (ELKA-24) in Japan. Sold by Friden as the Friden 1114 under OEM contract with Hitachi
|
|
Sales of Casio electronic calculators passes 100,000 unit mark
|
|
Victor Comptometer sells its electronics division to Nixdorf Computer AG
|
Aug
|
Western Electronics Show and Convention (WESCON), Cow Palace & Hilton Hotel, San Francisco [19-22 Aug]
|
Aug
|
Introduction of the Monroe 820 CRT-display electronic calculator
[Monroe's First IC-Based Calculator]
|
Aug
|
Shinshu Seiki Co., Ltd. (later Epson) shows
EP-101 drum printer at WESCON show
|
|
Canon Camera Co., Inc. changes name to "Canon, Inc."
|
Sep
|
Schneider Radio-Tèlèvision Electronique, Ivry-sur-Seine,
France, introduces the EXA(Exactronique) 210
|
>>>
|
electronic calclator at
the International Office Equipment and Computer show in Paris
|
Sep
|
M. Shima of Nippon Calculating Machine Co.(NCM) returns to US to check on
Intel's progress of calculator chipset development and finds progress
|
>>>
|
not meeting expectations. He is told Intel
does not have the capability to make the chipset proposed by NCM
|
Sep
|
Intel engineer assigned to "Busicom Project" proposes an alternative to
NCM's chip set design involving the development of a simple single-chip CPU
|
>>>
|
and support chips that could be programmed to operate as
various different types of calculators
|
Sep
|
Intel introduces its first static 256-bit MOS Random Access Memory IC, the 1101
|
Sep
|
Omron Tateisi Electronics Co. introduces production version of the
Omron 1210
[Omron's First Electronic Calculator]
|
|
William Kahn, Roy Reach (both founders) leave Mathatronics
|
Oct
|
Hitachi Begins Sale of its First Minicomputer, the HITAC-10, using small-scale TTL ICs
|
Oct
|
Japan Electronics Show, Osaka [1-7 Oct]
|
Oct
|
Sony publishes news release stating it will demonstrate its first
programmable electronic calculator, the
SOBAX ICC-2500,
at BEMA show [22-Oct]
|
Oct
|
11th Annual BEMA (Business Equipment Manufacturers Assoc.) show, New York Coliseum [26-30 Oct]
|
Oct
|
Sony introduces the ICC-610 calculator at BEMA show [26-Oct]
|
Oct
|
Sony formally introduces its first programmable calculator, the
ICC-2500,
at BEMA show [26-Oct]
|
Oct
|
Prototype Wang 700 Advanced Programming Calculator shown at BEMA show
|
Oct
|
Nippon Columbia (Denon) and Hitachi form strategic business alliance
|
Oct
|
Brother Procal 514 electronic calculator introduced
|
Oct
|
Hewlett Packard 9100B introduced
|
Oct
|
Barry Wright Corp. announces failure of deal to sell Mathatronics division to private investment group
|
Oct
|
Canon and Texas Instruments enter into agreement involving development of "Miniature Electronic Calculators"
|
|
Computer Terminals Corp. approaches Intel and Texas Instruments concening design of a single-chip eight-bit CPU to
|
>>>
|
replace the large board full of TTL small & medium-scale ICs that implemented the CPU in their Datapoint 2200
"smart terminal"
|
|
Fairchild Semiconductor introduces the first static RAM IC, the 4100, storing 256 bits
|
Nov
|
23rd Annual Northeast Electronics Research and Engineering Meeting (NEREM), Boston, MA [5-7 Nov]
|
Nov
|
Texas Instruments sets up its first complete production MOS LSI fabrication line at its new Houston, TX facility
|
Nov
|
Sony introduces the SOBAX ICC-520 calculator
|
Nov
|
Matshushita Communication Industrial Co., Ltd. (later, Panasonic) introduces the National PANAC-12W electronic calculator
[Matsushita's First Electronic Calculator]
|
Nov
|
Friden introduces the Hitachi-manufactured Friden EC-1114 electronic calculator [5-Nov]
|
Nov
|
Hitachi introduces the KK-32 (ELKA-32) Electronic Calculator in Japan. OEM'd by Friden to become the Friden 1115
|
Nov
|
Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) establishes Sharp Electronics U.K. Ltd. in Manchester, U.K.
|
Nov
|
Sophisicated 909 Scientist electronic calculator announced by Cintra, Inc.
[Cintra's First Electronic Calculator]
|
|
Commodore Business Machines moves corporate headquarters to Santa Clara, CA, from Toronto, Canada
|
|
Wander Werke AG ceases distribution of Wanderer Conti calculators, now only sold as Victor 1500-series
|
Dec
|
Hayakawa Electric
Sharp QT-8D
calculator debuts in Japan utilizing Autonetics-made four chip LSI chipset
[World's Second Electronic Calculator with Entirely MOS/LSI Logic]
|
Dec
|
Barry Wright Corp. shutters Mathatronics division, marking end of Mathatron calculator production/sales [30-Dec]
|
|
Estimated World Total Sales Value of Electronic Calculators for 1969 in US Dollars: $46.8 Billion
|
|
Casio's Total Calculator Sales Reach 100,000 Units World-wide
|
|
Japanese Electronic Calculator Firms Ship 441,000 Calculators Selling For A Total of $146.4M World-wide in 1969
|
|
US Domestic Sales of Electronic Calculators for 1969 is $46.8M
|
1970
Jan
|
Hayakawa Electric Co., Ltd., changes name to Sharp Corporation [1-Jan]
|
Jan
|
Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) introduces its new 16-bit minicomputer, the
PDP-11 (PDP 11/20)
|
Jan
|
MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) incorporated
|
Jan
|
Omron Tateisi Electronics Co. introduces the
Omron 1200
electronic calculator [21-Jan]
|
Jan
|
Nippon Columbia (Denon) introduces the DEC-411
electronic calculator
|
Jan
|
Ricoh Co, Ltd. founds Ricoh of America, a wholly-owned US subsidiary, located in New Jersey
|
Jan
|
Production of the Wanderer Werke Conti and (licensed) Victor Comptometer 1500-series ends
|
Jan
|
Wang Laboratories claims it has begun customer deliveries of its long-delayed
Wang 700-Series calculators
|
|
Futaba Denshi begins manufacture of Vacuum Fluorescent Display Devices after licensing technology from Iseden(ISE)
|
|
Oi Electric Co., Ltd. ceases manufacture of electronic calculators
|
Feb
|
Japanese telephone equipment manufacturer Nitsuko, Ltd. introduces its 1213 electronic calculator under the Tiger brand name
|
Feb
|
Mois Gerson, formerly of McDonnel Douglas' Space & Missile group, joins Electronic Arrays, Inc. as
|
>>>
|
Director of Corporate Operations
|
Feb
|
Sony introduces its ICC-1600 electronic calculator |
Feb
|
Friden introduces the Hitachi-made
Friden EC-1115 electronic calculator [4-Feb]
|
Feb
|
Formal agreement signed between Nippon Calculating Machine Co.(NCM) (a.k.a. Busicom) and Intel,
|
>>>
|
for development of a set of LSI integrated circuits exclusively
for NCM to use for electronic calculator applications [6-Feb]
|
Feb
|
Wang Laboratories announces the Wang 3300 Timeshared Computer System
|
|
Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) introduces its new PDP 8/e 12-bit minicomputer utilizing
|
|
small and medium-scale bipolar DTL and TTL logic chips and a universal backplane bus called Omnibus, $6,500
|
Mar
|
Sony announces its ICC-1500 electronic calculator
|
Mar
|
Autonetics division of North American Rockwell gains standards approval of 42-pin "Zig Zag" IC package
|
|
APF Electronics Inc. founded by brothers Allen and Philip Friedman in New York
to market & distribute Japanese-made electronics in the US
|
Mar
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. (Busicom) approves specs for Intel's proposed chip set to
|
>>>
|
serve as adaptable controller for electronic calculators
|
Mar
|
Wang Laboratories formally introduces the Wang 720A/B with additional memory capacity
|
Mar
|
Sharp QT-8D begins sales in US
|
Apr
|
Japanese Electronics Show, Tokyo
|
Apr
|
Federico Faggin leaves Fairchild Semiconductor, hired by Intel to work on "Busicom Project"
|
Apr
|
Federico Faggin put in charge of chip set design for "Busicom Project"
|
Apr
|
M. Shima of Busicom travels to Intel to help with chip set development,
|
>>>
|
joins Intel development team and immediately begins contributing to design [7-Apr]
|
Apr
|
Light Emitting Diode (LED), and later, calculator manufacturer Litronix founded by George E. Smith and six associates
|
Apr
|
Friden begins customer deliveries of the
Friden EC-1115 electronic calculator
|
Apr
|
Canon announces the
Canon Pocketronic "handheld" printing calculator using Texas Instruments LSI chips
|
Apr
|
Bill Hewlett[5/20/1913-1/12/2001] (HP co-founder) and
Barney Oliver[5/27/1916-11/23-1995 ] (9100 calculator project manager) gift a
|
>>>
|
HP 9100B
calculator to noted Science and Science Fiction author Arthur C. Clarke
|
Apr
|
Founding of General Digital by Alvin Philips, formerly of Motorola
(beginning of Western Digital) [23-Apr]
|
May
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. (later Busicom) introduces
the Wyle Laboratories-designed 207P and
2017P
versions of the
207/2017 calculators with interface
for an external impact printer
|
May
|
Casio establishes its own US sales company, Casio, Inc., in New York
|
May
|
Sanyo announces the ICC-0082D "mini-calculator" with rechargeable Sanyo-developed Nickel-
|
>>>
|
Cadmium rechargeable battery pack and Nixie tube display.
|
>>>
|
Uses four-chip MOS/LSI chipset developed and fabricated by General Instrument in US
|
May
|
Mostek's VP of Marketing (Harvey "Berry" Cash) visits Nippon Calculating Machine Co. (NCM) in Japan
|
>>>
|
concerning NCM's request for Mostek to develop MOS Large Scale Integration (LSI) single
|
>>>
|
chip basic calculator IC based on NCM's logic design (becomes the MK5010; First calculator-on-a-chip)
|
|
Hewlett Packard Corp. ordered to pay Olivetti $900,000 in royalties for violation of Olivetti's
Programma 101
|
>>>
|
patents by HP's 9100A/9100B calculators
|
|
Burroughs introduces the "Panaplex" planar gas-discharge display panel
innovation
|
>>>
|
using clear electrodes desposited on glass
|
|
American Micro-systems, Inc. (AMI) moves IC manufacturing facilities to Pocatello, Idaho
|
Jun
|
Nippon Columbia (Denon) introduces the
DEC-521
electronic calculator
|
Jun
|
Computer Terminals Corp. announces its Datapoint 2200 "smart" data terminal with TTL SSI & MSI-based CPU and MOS memory
|
Jun
|
Wang Laboratories
introduces
its 100-Series calculators
|
Jun
|
Japanese electronic calculator manufacturers produce 519,000 units worth $142M US Dollars
|
>>>
|
in first half of 1970, exceeding total 1969 production by 78,000 units and only
|
>>>
|
$US4.4M shy of total 1969 revenue.
|
Jun
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co.(NCM) (a.k.a Busicom) and Mostek ink contract for NCM to purchase 60,000 units of a Mostek-made
|
>>>
|
calculator-on-a-chip for $US30 per chip if the chip is ready for production by mid-November ($US1.8M deal)
|
Jul
|
North American Rockwell (NAR) creates NAR Microelectronics Inc. from its Autonetics division
|
|
Pico Electronics Ltd. founded in Glenrothes, Scotland, by skilled group of MOS IC design
|
>>>
|
engineers from General Instrument intent on developing a single chip calculator IC
|
Aug
|
Friden introduces the Hitachi-made
Friden EC-1116 electronic calculator [5-Aug]
|
|
Friden's new electronic calculator manufacturing plant in Albuquerque, NM up and running
|
Aug
|
Logic simulation of Intel's simple CPU on a chip for Nippon Calculating
Machine Co.(NCM) completed, only one logic error found
|
Aug
|
Nippon Calculating Macine Co. shows prototype Busicom Model 141-DA using Japanese-produced
|
>>>
|
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) (Never went to production)
|
Aug
|
Western Electronics Show and Convention (WESCON), Hollywood Park, Los Angeles, CA [25-28 Aug]
|
|
Monroe signs OEM agreement with
Computer Design Corp. to market calculators
designed and built by Computer Design Corporation
|
Sep
|
Shares of Sony Corporation first listed on New York Stock Exchange
|
Sep
|
Sanyo introduces the ICC-0082D "mini-calculator" in the US [7-Sep]
|
Sep
|
Casio first publicly traded on secondary market of Tokyo Stock Exchange
|
Oct
|
Japan Electronics Show, Osaka Japan [1-7-Oct]
|
Oct
|
Intel announces the 1103 1024-bit dynamic RAM IC, first commercially used in the
|
>>>
|
Hewlett Packard 9810A
[First Commercially-Available DRAM Chip]
|
Oct
|
Matsushita introduces the National (Matsushita's trade name for electronic products)
|
>>>
|
PANAC-1202 (JE-202) electronic calculator for sale in Japan
|
Oct
|
Canon's Pocketronic
begins sales in Japan
[First MOS-LSI Handheld, Rechargeable Battery Powered, Printing Calculator] [Texas Instruments' Cal-Tech was proof-of-concept]
|
Oct
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. informally accepts Intel's single-chip CPU proposal for its new calculator concept,
|
>>>
|
flatly rejecting successful competing chipset from Computer Design Corporation based on NCM's original concept |
Nov
|
Mostek engineer hand-delivers Rubylith layout for "calculator on a chip" to
Californian
|
>>>
|
IC photomask contractor for mask production
|
Nov
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co.'s Masatoshi Shima returns to Japan after working
very closely with Intel
|
>>>
|
design team focused on developing developing "CPU on a chip" as
basis for calculator
|
>>>
|
[became Intel 4004 microprocessor and later, Busicom 141-PF calculator]
|
Nov
|
Electronic Arrays
announces
six-chip calculator (S-100) chipset for $158.46 for all six chips
[First publicly-available commercial calculator chipset]
|
Nov
|
Team at Hewlett Packard begins design of HP-35 Handheld Scientific calculator
|
Nov
|
Mostek team successfully tests "calculator on a chip" from first run of IC developed
|
>>>
|
for Nippon Calculating Machine Co. (Busicom)
|
Nov
|
Four-Phase Systems, Inc. debuts their MOS/VLSI IC-based IV/70 Computer System
[First Use of Microprocessor in a Commercial Product]
|
Nov
|
International Calculating Machines (ICM) created as subsidiary of Electronic Arrays
|
Nov
|
Canon introduces the
Canon L-121 desktop calculator
[Canon's first calcualtor to utilize MOS/LSI ICs]
|
Nov
|
Casio 121-B/AS-B calculator introduced
|
Dec
|
U.S. Patent
3,546,676
granted to Robert Ragen of Friden, for design of Friden EC-130
|
Dec
|
Wang Laboratories common stock begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange [22-Dec]
|
|
Industrial Research Magazine names Cintra, Inc.'s
909 Scientist calculators as one of its "IR 100" most
innovative products of 1970
|
|
US sales of domestically-made electronic desk calculators for 1970: $37.8M
|
|
Total sales value of European-made electronic desk calculators in 1970: $134.3M
|
|
Total factory price of Japanese desktop electronic calculator production in 1970: $166.7M
|
|
Japanese-made electronic calculators account for 70% of US calculator sales in
1970, amounting to ~$120M
|
1971
Jan
|
Don Hoefler, journalist, first uses the term "Silicon Valley" in print
in a number of articles he wrote that
|
>>>
|
ran in Electronic News, with the title of "Silicon Valley, USA" [11-Jan]
|
Jan
|
Hewlett Packard introduces instrumentation system for 9100A and
9100B calculators
|
Jan
|
Mostek begins volume production of "Calculator-on-a-chip", dubbed the MK5010,
developed exclusively for Nippon Calculating
|
>>>
|
Machine Co. (NCM) a.k.a. Busicom
[First Single-Chip Calculator IC]
|
Jan
|
Sanyo introduces re-design of the ICC-0081D calculator using 7-Segment gas-discharge
|
>>>
|
display tubes replacing Nixie tubes
|
Jan
|
Sanyo introduces the ICC-0082 calculator with built-in power supply/charger
versus external power pack of ICC-0081/ICC-0081D
|
Jan
|
Sharp EL-8, also known as the ELSI-8, introduced
|
Jan
|
Victor Comptometer internally obsoletes the
Victor 14-321
and
Victor 14-322 electronic calculators
|
Jan
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. completes breadboard prototype of printing calculator using small/medium scale
|
|
TTL ICs based on the design of Intel's proposed micro-CPU
|
Jan
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. introduces first "pocket" calculator,
the "Handy" LE-120A, using
|
>>>
|
Mostek MK6010 single-chip calculator IC
[First calculator to use calculator-on-a-chip]
|
|
Computer Terminals Corp. begins shipping its Datatpoint 2200 "smart" data terminal, considered by many to be the first
"personal computer"
|
|
Intel begins pilot production of CPU on a chip and peripheral chips
exclusively for Nippon Calculating Machine Co.
|
Jan
|
Wang Laboratories announces its
500-Series calculators
|
Feb
|
Intel verifies first operating "CPU on a Chip" IC created for Nippon
Calculating Machine Co.
|
Feb
|
Philco-Ford announces shutdown of its microelectronics division amidst extreme competition in the marketplace
|
|
International Calculating Machines introduces the
ICM 816 calculator using its
parent company's
|
>>>
|
(Electronic Arrays)
S-100
six-chip calculator chip set
|
Feb
|
Canon's unique Pocketronic
calculator goes on sale in USA
|
Feb
|
Sharp EL-8 begins sales in US
|
Mar
|
Michael Cochran leaves Cintra, Inc. to join Texas Instruments
|
Mar
|
Nippon Columbia (Denon) and Hitachi dissolve business partnership
|
Mar
|
Wang Labs delivers first 3300 Time Shared Computer System to Weymouth South High School in Weymouth, MA
|
|
Remains of Mathatronics liquidated, marking the end of the innovative calculator company
|
|
Victor 1800-Series calculators introduced
|
|
London-based calculating machine distributor Muldivo Calculating Machine Co.,
Ltd. goes out of business
|
|
Hewlett Packard 9810A introduced as first member
of new 9800-series of electronic calculating instruments
|
Apr
|
Sharp introduces the EL-8M, follow-on to the
EL-8, adding memory
or double-precision multiply functions
|
Apr
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. receives first production "CPU on a Chip" and support
|
>>>
|
chips from Intel used for building prototype printing business calculator
|
Apr
|
Casio introduces the Casio AL-3000 printing programmable electronic calculator
|
Apr
|
First operating prototype of printing office calculator using Intel
"CPU on a chip" completed by
|
>>>
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co.
[Prototype for the Busicom 141-PF]
|
May
|
Introduction of the Omron 800 calculator
[New Low Price Benchmark for AC-Powered Desktop]
|
May
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. begins volume production of the Intel 4004-based Busicom 141-PF calculator
|
|
SCM introduces the
Marchant I (also known as the
F-80) battery-operated, portable, Nixie Tube
|
>>>
|
display calculator utilizing AMI-manufactured two chip LSI chip set
|
May
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co., under Busicom brand name, begins sale of its
LE-120A calculator using Mostek's
|
>>>
|
single-chip calculator IC
[First Handheld, single-chip, LED-Display calculator]
|
May
|
Intel and Nippon Calculating Machine Co. renegotiate calculator chip-set
contract,
|
>>>
|
allowing Intel to sell "CPU on a chip" and support ICs to others,
creating the MCS-4 family of chips
|
May
|
Casio introduces the Casio AS-C
|
May
|
Bowmar shows early prototype of pocket-sized battery-powered calculator using TI calculator-on-a-chip at industry trade show
|
May
|
Tektronix announces purchase of Cintra, Inc. from Physics International [7-May]
|
May
|
Jack Murdock, co-founder of Tektronix,
dies in mishap with his seaplane [16-May]
|
|
Computer Design Corporation launches its own line higher-end calculators
under the Compucorp brand name
|
|
UniCom Systems, Inc. founded in Cupertino, California, as an electronic calculator distributor
|
Jun
|
Sharp begins sale of the EL-8M, follow-on to the
EL-8, adding memory/double-precision functions
|
Jun
|
Wang Laboratories announces the top-of-the-line 700C and
720C models of
|
>>>
|
its 700-series calculators
|
Jun
|
Wang Laboratories announces the 708 Memory Expansion Controller for its 700-Series calculators
|
Jun
|
Wang Laboratories announces 709 Dual Cassette Drive peripheral for the 700-Series calculators
|
|
Sankyo Seiki Mfg. Co., Ltd. (Japan) begins production of compact SANAC-series
magnetic card reader/writer device
|
Jul
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co.(Busicom) and National Cash Register negotiate
OEM sales agreement
|
>>>
|
for NCR to sell the Busicom 141-PF calculator under the NCR badge in North America
|
Jul
|
General Digital renamed Western Digital
|
Jul
|
Purchase of Cintra, Inc. by
Tektronix is completed
|
Jul
|
Michael Cochran validates functionality of what becomes the progenitor of
Texas Instrument's
TMS1802
|
>>>
|
microcontroller-based calculator chip [4-Jul]
|
Jul
|
Tektronix announces the re-badged Cintra 909 and 911 calculators as the
Tektronix 909 and
Tektronix 911
|
Jul
|
Hugle International incorporated, Mountain View, California [20-Jul]
|
Jul
|
Mois Gerson succeeds Samuel Nissim as President of Electronic Arrays, Inc. Nissim assumes Chairman of the Board role.
|
Aug
|
Tektronix announces price reduction and upgraded base memory in
Tektronix 909 and
Tektronix 911 calculators
|
Aug
|
American Micro-systems, Inc. (AMI) announces agreement to acquire majority
interest in desktop calculator
|
>>>
|
distributor Unicom Systems, Inc. of Cupertino, CA
|
Aug
|
Garrett Micro-Circuits sells company assets to Burroughs, but retains company name
|
Sep
|
Texas Instruments
announces the TMS1802,
TI's first calculator on a chip [later becomes TMS0100-series] [17-Sep]
|
Sep
|
Masatoshi Shima leaves Nippon Calculating Machine Co.(Busicom) for new
position at Ricoh
|
Sep
|
Omron inks $2M contract with Nortec Electronics Corp. for development of//
MOS/LSI chip set for low-cost calculators
|
Sep
|
Casio AS-8A introduced
|
Sep
|
Sony introduces the
Sobax ICC-88
rechargeable portable calculator using Electronic Arrays' six-chip calculator chip-set
|
Sep
|
AMI completes acquisition of calculator distributor Unicom Systems, Inc.
|
Sep
|
Bowmar/ALI, Inc. ships their first pocket-sized electronic calculator, the 901B with MSRP of $249,
|
>>>
|
utilizing TI calculator-on-a-chip IC
[First commercial truly pocket-sized calculator]
|
Oct
|
Busicom introduces the Model 141-PF printing desktop calculator
[First calculator to utilize single-chip microprocessor (Intel 4004)]
|
Nov
|
Mitsubishi Electric introduces its first minicomputer, the MELCOM 70, using Small- & Medium-Scale TTL IC Logic with 0.8µS cycle time
[Fastest Japanese Minicomputer at the time]
|
Nov
|
Masatoshi Shima Leaves Ricoh to work for Intel at request of Intel CEO Bob Noyce
|
Nov
|
Popular Electronics publishes article introducing MITS' $179 calculator kit, the MITS 816
|
>>>
|
based on Electronic Arrays' low-cost six-chip calculator chip set
|
Nov
|
Intel announces general availability of MCS-4 microprocessor family [15-Nov]
[Intel's first publicly-marketed microprocessor IC]
|
Dec
|
Wang Laboratories announces Wang 600-Series calculators
|
|
Sales of electronic calculators in US during 1971 totals $131-million
|
|
Estimated total factory price of Japanese desktop electronic calculator production in 1971: $136.4M
|
|
Sales of Japanese-made electronic calculators during 1971: approx $176M
|
|
Total number of electronic calculators in Soviet Union (USSR): ~45,000
|
|
Total value of calculators manufactured in Europe during 1971: ~$174.1
|
1972
Jan
|
General Electric closes down its integrated circuit business
|
Jan
|
Hewlett Packard introduces the revolutionary HP-35 handheld scientific calculator utilizing LSI ICs
|
>>>
|
fabricated by Mostek for HP
[World's first handheld scientific calculator]
|
Feb
|
Rapid Data Systems & Equipment, Ltd. introduces the Rapidman 800 pocket calculator
|
Feb
|
Wang Labs announces SWAP calculator user group [operational in June '72]
|
Feb
|
Wang Labs announces
Model 711
Input/Output Writer
|
Feb
|
Casio fx-1 introduced
[Casio's first scientific electronic calculator]
|
May
|
Sony introduces its ICC-700 electronic calculator
|
Apr
|
Varadyne, Inc. spins off Veradyne Systems unit which manufacturers electronic calculator equipment
|
Apr
|
Texas Instruments opens calculator manufacturing plant in Fort Walton Beach, Florida
|
Apr
|
Litronix opens electronics manufacturing facility in Malaysia
|
Apr
|
Intel announces the 8008 microprocessor chip, based on 1201 microprocessor prototype developed for Computer Terminal Corp.
|
Apr
|
Commodore Business Machines provides guarantee of bank loan for Varadyne
Systems, Inc.
|
Apr
|
Birmingham, UK-based business equipment firm Fonadeck International purchases assets of closed-down Muldivo
|
>>>
|
Calculating Machine Co., Ltd. for an undisclosed price
|
Apr
|
Commodore Business Machines obtains option to acquire 75-90% of Varadyne Systems, Inc. from Varadyne, Inc.
|
|
Facit AB begins large scale layoffs as calculator business suffers major losses
|
|
Diehl Corp. ends production of electromechanical calculators
|
May
|
The American Calculator Corp. dissolved [8-May]
|
May
|
Casio AS-8D introduced
|
Jun
|
Master Calculator Company, a division of 6/C Inc., registered as doing business in Grand Prairie, Texas [9-Jun]
|
Jun
|
Wang Laboratories inaugurates "SWAP" (Society for Wang Applications and Programs) User Group
|
Jun
|
MITS Model 1440
calculator introduced in Radio-Electronics magazine
|
Jun
|
Casio introduces its R-3 Printing Electronic Calculator
|
|
Hewlett Packard 9820A introduced, using HP-developed 5x7 dot-matrix
alphanumeric LED display
|
|
Hewlett Packard 9830A introduced
[First desktop calculator to have the BASIC programming language embedded in ROM]
|
|
Production of Curta mechanical calculators ends
|
Aug
|
Casio's Casio Mini
introduced
[New low price benchmark for four-function handheld]
|
Aug
|
Fujitsu introduces the FACOM U-200 Series of 16-bit Minicomputers
[Intel's second microprocessor]
|
Aug
|
Intel introduces the 8008 Microprocessor [24-Aug]
[Intel's second microprocessor]
|
Aug
|
Rockwell Microelectronics introduces the 4-bit PPS-4 microprocessor
[Rockwell's first microprocessor]
|
Aug
|
Sharp EL-801 "ELSI-MINI" handheld calculator introduced
[First use of CMOS calculator chip-set (T3103, T3104) made by Toshiba]
|
|
Rockwell International acquires Sumlock Anita Electronics Ltd. and
Sumlock Comptometer
|
Sep
|
Rockwell International
acquires
UniCom Systems, Inc. from American Micro-systems, Inc. [18-Sep]
|
Sep
|
Texas Instruments announces its TMS0100 family of mask-programmable calculator ICs that can be configured for
|
>>>
|
different features by simple mask changes [20-Sep]
|
Sep
|
Texas Instruments announces entry into the electronic calculator marketplace
with the TI-2500,
TI 3000,
|
>>>
|
and TI 3500
calculators, utilizing their new TMS0100-series calculator on a chip ICs [20-Sep]
|
Oct
|
First all Taiwanese-designed & manufactured Unitron DC-12 electronic calculator goes to market
[1]
|
|
Facit AB and subsidiary Addo AB acquired by consumer and industrial products conglomerate
Electrolux
|
Nov
|
Litronix purchases CMOS integrated circuit manufacturer Advanced LSI Technology, Inc.
|
Nov
|
Nixdorf acquires Victor Comptometer, establishes Nixdorf Computer, Inc. in Chicago, IL
|
Nov
|
Microsystems International(MIL) licences Nortec Electronics' single chip
|
>>>
|
calculator IC design to manufacture calculators for Rapid Data Systems & Equipment Ltd.
|
|
Wang 400-Series calculators introduced
|
Dec
|
Micro Instrumentation & Telemetry Systesm (MITS) introduces its most
advanced desktop electronic calculator, the
MITS 7400
|
|
Estimated total factory price of Japanese desktop electronic calculator production in 1972: $142.4M
|
1973
Feb
|
Hewlett Packard HP-80 introduced
[First Financial Handheld]
|
Feb
|
Casio introduces the Casio "Mini", Model CM-601
|
Mar
|
US Federal Trade Commission, under anti-trust concerns, rules that Litton Industries to divest itself of Triumph Adler
|
Mar
|
MITS 7440 calculator introduced in Radio Electronics magazine
|
|
Hewlett Packard opens retail sales showrooms in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago to market its line of
|
>>>
|
advanced desktop and pocket electronic calculators
|
|
Cherry Electrical Products Corp. begins manufacture of electronic calculators purely as OEM producer, initial customers
|
>>>
|
are UniCom Systems (Rockwell International), SCM, and Olympia. Later, Sumlock Anita and NCR
|
|
Business Equipment Manufacturers Association (BEMA) becomes CBEMA, adding computer manufacturers to the mix
|
Apr
|
Hewlett Packard introduces the 9805A printing (with optional LED display) statistical desktop electronic calculator
|
Apr
|
First public demonstration of cellular phone technology by Marty Cooper of
Motorola,
|
>>>
|
leader of team that developed the technology, uses a prototype
wireless portable
|
>>>
|
cellular phone to place a call to counterpart at Bell Laboratories [3-Apr]
|
|
North American Rockwell and Rockwell Manufacturing merge to form Rockwell International
|
May
|
Hewlett Packard, through Japanese subsidiary Yokogawa Hewlett-Packard, markets
a plug-in ROM block for the HP 9810 calculator that prints in Japanese Katakana character set
|
May
|
Sharp introduces the ELSI Mate EL-805 [15-May]
 [First Battery-Powered "Pocket" Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Calculator]
|
May
|
Sony announces it will end production of electronic calculators [31-May]
|
May
|
Hewlett Packard HP-46 printing desktop electronic calculator introduced
|
May
|
Wang Laboratories begins shipping the 2200 "personal computer"
|
May
|
Computer Design Corp. (Compucorp) Introduces the 324 Scientist and 344 Statistician "portable microcomputers" (Compucorp's term)
|
May
|
Hewlett Packard HP-45 handheld calculator introduced
|
Jul
|
Panafacom, Ltd. established in Japan by consortium of Fujitsu, Fuji Electric, and Matsushita(Panasonic) to
develop a 16-bit microprocessor IC [2-Jul]
|
Jul
|
Sony terminates manufacture of electronic calculators [31-Jul]
|
Aug
|
Japan's Ministry of Finance reports that exports of Japanese-made electronic calculators through
|
>>>
|
the end of July, 1973 exceeded the total exports for all of 1972.
|
Aug
|
Tektronix Model 21 and 31 calculators introduced. Model 21 priced at $1,850, and Model 31
at $2,850 [2-Aug]
|
Sep
|
Master Calculator Co. purchased by American Metrics
|
Sep
|
Western Electronics Show & Convention (WESCON) trade show, San Francisco, CA [11-14 Sep]
|
Nov
|
Signetics goes public with 1.3M shares at $17 each
|
Dec
|
Beckman Instruments assumes ownership of Sperry's Planar Gas Discharge Display group
|
Dec
|
Hewlett Packard announces its 9821A calculator for $4,975 in base form
|
|
$399.5MJapan's combined output of electronic calculators exceeds ten million units for the year 1973
|
|
Research firm Creative Strategies study reveals that retail sales of electronic calculators in 1973 reached $1-billion mark
|
|
Factory-cost of electronic calculators produced in the US in 1973 amounts to $530M
|
1974
Jan
|
Hewlett Packard HP-65 handheld programmable calculator introduced
[World's first programmable handheld electronic calculator]
|
Jan
|
Intel introduces its 8080 8-bit microprocessor, follow-on to the earlier 8008
|
Feb
|
Singer/Friden announces the Friden 1202 and Friden 1203 calculators utilizing Rockwell single chip calculator IC
|
Feb
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co. (Busicom) files for bankruptcy
|
Feb
|
Tektronix Model 21 and Model 31 calculators launched in UK
|
|
Motorola announces its 6800 8-bit microprocessor based loosely on Digital Equipment (DEC) PDP-11 minicomputer architecture
|
Mar
|
Japan's Business Machine Makers Association announce desktop calculator quality standards that certify a calculator as having
|
>>>
|
met specific quality measurements to assure quality consistency in Japan's highly competitive calculator market.
|
Mar
|
Tektronix announces the
31/53 Instrumentation System
based on its
Model 31 Calculator
|
Apr
|
Unexpected market-wide drop in sales of electronic calculators marks beginning of shakeout in industry
|
Jun
|
U.S. Patent
3,819,921
granted to Texas Instruments' Jack Kilby & team for TI's prototype
Cal-Tech
calculator
|
|
Cal-Tex Semiconductor, Inc. leaves the electronic calculator marketplace to focus on electronic watches
|
|
Computer Design Corp. (Compucorp)
sells 24% share of voting stock to Litton Industries (Monroe)
|
|
A general economic recession hits the semiconductor market resulting in large layoffs at chip makers
|
Jul
|
Litton Industries loans Computer Design Corp. (Compucorp) $1M
|
Aug
|
Tektronix announces Model 152 BCD Interface for its
Model 31
calculator |
Aug
|
Monroe division of Litton Industries assumes sole distributorship of
electronic calculators and peripheral equipment
|
>>>
|
manufactured by Computer Design Corporation under the
Compucorp brand. The
agreement states
that the Compucorp division of Computer Design Corp. will
|
>>>
|
cease all marketing,
sales and service of Compucorp-branded calculators, with all personnel involved
with Compucorp becoming Monroe employees. [2-Aug]
|
|
Smith-Corona Marchant files complaint with US Federal Trade Commission against Brother Industries, Ltd.
|
>>>
|
of Japan for dumping inexpensive portable typewriters into the US Market
|
|
Broughton & Co. (Bristol) Ltd., UK, purchases rights to the "Busicom" brand name from bankrupt Nippon Calculating Machine Co.
|
|
Nippon Calculating Machine Co.(Japan) and Busicom Corp. cease operations after bankruptcy
|
|
National Cash Register Co. changes name to "NCR Corp."
|
Nov
|
Sam Carlson released as director of Rockwell International's Microelectronics Products division, replaced by Don Mitchell. |
>>>
|
Carlson named VP & Assistant to Donn L. Williams, Rockwell's President of Electronics Operations
|
|
Computer Design Corp. (Compucorp)
shuts down its dealer/distributor network and OEM agreements per
|
>>>
|
August agreement with
Monroe division of Litton Industries
|
|
Microsystems International Ltd.(MIL) acquired by Northern Electric Co. Ltd.
from which it was originally a spin-off
|
|
Estimated world-wide production of electronic calculators in 1974: 34-Million units
|
|
US production value of calculator ICs in 1974: Basic Single-Chip, $18.6M; Scientific Single-Chip, $10.6M;
|
>>>
|
Special Function Single Chip, $3.5M; Chip sets, $2.7M
|
|
Estimated 1974 sales value of electronic calculators in Europe: $399.5M
|
Dec
|
The remains of former CDS Technology, Inc, (MOS Technology) revitalized with arrival of four ex-Motorola senior engineers and
|
>>>
|
investment from Prentice-Hall Corp. System Inc. under name of PJM Technology, Inc. [11-Dec]
|
|
US sales of desktop calculators in 1974: Programmable: $170M; Non-Programmable: $375M; Total: $545M
|
|
Estimated manufacturing cost of 12.2 million electronic calculators produced in the US in 1974: $580M (35M net loss?)
|
|
Casio's total global sales of calculators tops 10,000,000 (10 million) units, only ~2.2 million units shy of total US electronic calculator production
|
1975
Jan
|
Texas Instruments shutters Fort Walton Beach, Florida calculator plant, citing economic conditions [10-Jan]
|
Jan
|
PJM Technology, Inc. (formerly MOS Technology/CDS Technology), renamed to MOS Technology, Inc.
|
Feb
|
Rockwell International
announces
intention to shut down calculator division UniCom Systems [1-Feb]
|
Feb
|
New York Life Insurance Co. files $16-million suit against Bowmar Instrument Corp. due to default on a loan [7-Feb]
|
Feb
|
Bowmar Instrument Corp. files for Federal Chapter XI bankruptcy [10-Feb]
|
Mar
|
Plan for acquisition of chip maker Signetics by Philips announced
|
Apr
|
On appeal, the US Federal Trade Commissions reverses its ruling that Litton Industries divest itself of Triumph Adler
|
Apr
|
Panafacom Ltd. introduces its MN1610 16-bit Microprocessor IC based on its U-200 minicomputer architecture
|
Apr
|
Bill Gates & Paul Allen found Micro Soft (later, Microsoft) [4-Apr]
|
|
National Semiconductor reveals that one of its proprietary scientific calculator chip designs
|
>>>
|
had been stolen, copied, and is being sold at lower cost than National's chip
|
|
Hugle International declared bankrupt
|
|
Remains of
Computer Design Corp.
absorbed into Monroe International division of Litton Industries
|
May
|
Tektronix announces the Model E-31 Calculator (reduced cost version of the
Tek Model 31)
|
Jun
|
Acquisition of Signetics by Philips, via US Philips Trust Corp., is completed, combined becomes Philips Semiconductors
|
Jun
|
Bowmar Instrument Corp. terminates production of calculators
|
Jun
|
Shinshu Seiki Co., Ltd. launches the Epson brand name
|
Jun
|
Canon introduces its SX-310 advanced programmable desktop calculator
|
|
Hewlett Packard 9830 calculator
selects passwords for the very popular ABC TV Game Show Password
|
Jul
|
CDS Technology, Inc dissolved as a corporate entity [9-Jul]
|
|
Facit AB subsidiary of Electrolux writes off inventory stocks of calculators at factories in Sweden and sales subsidiaries outside
|
>>>
|
Sweden as non-sellable merchandise
|
|
Singer Business Machines division shut down
|
Oct
|
IMS Associates publishes advertisement for IMSAI 8080 Microcomputer in Popular Electronics magazine
|
|
Beginning of project at Hewlett Packard to develop what became the HP 85
|
|
Western Digital becomes the largest independent producer (by sales volume) of calculator ICs in the world
|
Nov
|
Tektronix introduces the revolutionary
4051 desktop "Graphics Computer System", $7,995
|
|
Tektronix shuts down calculator business unit, exits the calculator business.
|
Dec
|
Texas Instruments' Cal-Tech calculator accepted for exhibit by the Smithsonian Institution
|
Dec
|
IMS Associates ships the first batch of IMSAI 8080 microcomputer kits to customers [16-Dec]
|
|
American Microsystems, Inc. (AMI) ships over 15M MOS/LSI integrated circuits in 1975
|
|
1975 sales of calculator chip sets produced in Japan & Europe: $115.6M
|
|
1975 sales of electronic calculators in the US: $268M
|
|
1975 sales of electronic calculators in Japan & Europe: Basic pocket calculators: $117.6M; Office calculators: $100.1M; Scientific calculators: $42M
|
|
US production value of calculator ICs in 1975: Basic Single-Chip: $21.6M; Scientific Single-Chip: $16.1M
|
>>>
|
Special Function Single Chip: $2.4M; Chip sets: $2.4M
|
1976
Jan
|
Victor Comptometer introduces the Victor 4900 Advanced Programmable Calculator
|
Jan
|
Rockwell International begins phase-out of Sumlock Anita division in UK
|
|
Texas Instruments
announces
the SR-60 advanced programmable
desktop calculator
|
Feb
|
Hewlett Packard announces HP 9825A programmable calculator with HP-IB instrument control capability
|
Feb
|
Rockwell International's Microelectronics Device Division reports that it produced over two-million LSI semiconductor devices during February, 1976
|
Mar
|
Federico Faggin(formerly Intel), Ralph Ungermann(Intel), and Masatoshi Shima(formerly Nippon Calculating Machine Co./Intel)
|
>>>
|
create first working prototype of Zilog Z-80 microprocessor
|
|
Friden closes down electronic calculator plant opened in fall of 1970 in Albuquerque, NM
|
|
Facit AB begins phase-out of direct sales force for office products
|
|
Facit AB closes office product production factory in Gothenburg, Sweden
|
|
Monroe Division of Litton Industries ends business relationship with Computer Design Corp.(Compucorp)
|
Oct
|
Computer Design Corp. announces bankruptcy filing [22-Oct]
|
Oct
|
Western Digital Corp. announces voluntary filing for Chapter XI bankruptcy
production during attempted reorganization
|
>>>
|
after it is unable to meet financial obligations to United California Bank
and Emerson Electric Co.
|
Dec
|
Texas Instruments introduces the PC-100 Thermal Printer Dock for the SR-52
Mag-Card Programmable Pocket Calculator at Consumer Electronics Show
|
Dec
|
Singer sells off Friden division to British computer manufacturer International Computers Limited (ICL)
|
1977
Mar
|
Agreement reached between Victor Comptometer Corp. and Walter Kidde Co. for Kidde to acquire Victor
|
Apr
|
Ricoh introduces the acronym "OA" for Office Automation at Hanover Fairground CEBIT(defunct as of 2018) show in Germany
|
|
Hewlett Packard introduces the revolutionary HP-01 Wrist Instrument
[First wrist-worn calculator/timekeeper/calendar/stopwatch]
|
Jun
|
Rockwell International exits calculator business
|
|
Facit(Electrolux) exits calculator business
|
|
Litronix exits the electronic calculator market
|
|
Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) sold to Pertec Computer Corp.
|
Oct
|
Texas Instruments introduces the SR-60A update of the SR-60 programmable calculator
|
|
Victor United spins off business machines division as Victor Business Products
|
1978
Jan
|
Tokyo Electronic Application Laboratory (TEAL) closes, claiming bankruptcy, a victim of the calculator price wars
|
|
Commodore exits electronic calculator business in favor of personal computers
|
|
Dr. Ge Yao Chu, Senior VP and Board Member, retires from Wang Laboratories
|
Jun
|
Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. (NEC) announces intent to acquire California-based chip-maker Electronic Arrays, Inc. for approx. $8.6M [16-Jun]
|
Oct
|
Willard Rockwell, founder of what became Rockwell International, passes away [16-Oct]
|
Dec
|
Sale of Chip Maker Electronic Arrays to NEC completed
|
1979
|
Mostek purchased by United Technologies Corp.
|
Mar
|
Volkswagenwerk AG (Volkswagen) announces intent to acquire majority ownership
of Royal Typewriter/Triumph-Adler in 55% stock purchase
|
|
R.ohm (Toyo Electronics Industry) changes name to ROHM
|
|
Fairchild Camera & Instrument purchased by French company, Schlumberger Limited, for $425M
|
Dec
|
Hewlett Packard announces the HP-85A desktop computer
|
|
Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd. formally changes name to Toshiba
|
1980
Jan
|
John W. Mauchly, physicist, noted designer of ENIAC and other important early electronic computers, passes away at age 72 [8-Jan]
|
|
Bankrupt Computer Design Corp./Compucorp rejects paltry $1/share bid by Savin Corp. to acquire the company
|
Jun
|
Tokuji Hayakawa, brilliant inventor, Head of R&D and Engineering Manager at Hayakawa Electric Co., Ltd. (later, Sharp Corp.) passes away [24-Jun]
|
|
Monroe International changes name to Monroe Systems for Business
|
Oct
|
Compucorp introduces "Correct'n'Spell" Word processing System, $13,000
|
Dec
|
Rapid Data Systems & Equipment dissolved [16-Dec]
|
|
Total global sales of Casio electronic calculators reaches 100,000,000 (100 Million) units
|
1981
1982
Mar
|
Motorola, Inc. completes purchase of Four-Phase Systems, Inc. in $253M Stock Exchange [2-Mar]
|
Jul
|
Harold Koplow[11/21/1940-11/4/2004 ] leaves Wang Laboratories over disagreements with Fred Wang(Dr. An Wang's son),
Wang Labs' Director of R&D
|
|
Soundesign Corp. returns to being a privately-held company
|
|
Victor United & Victor Business Products rejoined, now called "Victor Technologies"
|
|
Dr. An Wang retires from active management of Wang Laboratories
|
1983
|
Harold Koplow[11/21/1940-11/4/2004 ] joins computer manufacturer Modular Computer
|
>>>
|
Systems, Inc. (MODCOMP) as VP of Research & Development
|
|
Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. officially renamed "NEC Corporation"
|
|
Texas Instruments files complaint with US Intl. Trade Commission concerning importation of inexpensive off-shore calculators as violation of US Tariff and Patent Law
|
Sep
|
Compucorp announces plan to purchase 80% stake in Monroe division of Litton Business Systems
|
1984
Jan
|
Jack Tramiel leaves Commodore, citing "personal reasons" for his departure, though indications were that it was really due
|
>>>
|
wrangling within the company concerning its future direction
|
Jan
|
Compucorp announces abandonment of plan to purchase majority ownership of Monroe division of Litton Industries
|
Apr
|
Toshio Kashio awarded Japanese Medal of Honor with Blue Ribbon by Emperor Hirohito(Shōwa) due to his contributions in
|
>>>
|
the development of electronic technology (most specifically electronic calculators) in Japan
|
|
Frank S. Wyle retires from role as CEO of Wyle Laboratories
|
Jul
|
US Intl. Trade Commission initiates investigation of TI claim of import tariff/patent violation by off-shore (Japan) calculator manufacturers
|
Aug
|
Hewlett Packard begins shipping the HP-25 handheld programmable calculator
|
Aug
|
Compucorp announces promotion of Norman Grannis[3/23/1935-2/19/2001] to Executive VP and Chief Operations Officer
|
|
Litton Industries sells Monroe Systems for Business division to Jeffry Picower, a major beneficiary of the Bernie Madoff investment scandal
|
Dec
|
Elmer R. Easton steps down as President and CEO of Compucorp
|
Dec
|
William M. Duke succeeds Elmer Easton as President and CEO of Compucorp
|
1985
Jan
|
Bernard B. Katz invests $1M in Compucorp, assumes board Vice Chairman of the Board title
|
|
Olympia Werke AG is renamed Olympia Aktiengesellschaft
|
Mar
|
Elmer R. Easton resigns as Chairman of the Board of Compucorp to pursue other business interests
|
|
Dr. An Wang (Founder/CEO of Wang Laboratories) holds secret discussions with ITT regarding possible merger
|
Jun
|
US Intl. Trade Commission rules no violation of tariff or patent law relating to Texas Instruments' complaint filed in late 1983
|
Jun
|
Bernard B. Katz resigns from board of directors of Compucorp citing potential conflict of interest
|
Jul
|
John F. Cunningham resigns as President of Wang Laboratories, sells all of his stock holdings in the company [19-Jul]
|
|
Harold Koplow[11/21/1940-11-4-2004], leaves Modular Computer (Modcomp), and Dave Moros, both
|
|
formerly from Wang Laboratories, recruited to Computer Consoles, Inc.
|
Sep
|
Bernard B. Katz elected Chairman of the Board of Compucorp (only months after having resigned as a director)
|
Sep
|
Norman Grannis[3/23/1935-2/19/2001] promoted to President and CEO of Compucorp, replacing William Duke
|
Oct
|
United Technologies announces intent to close down Mostek Corp. subsidiary [17-Oct]
|
1986
Mar
|
Passing of Heinz Nixdorf due to heart attack suffered at the CeBit Trade Show [17-Mar]
|
Apr
|
Passing of Don Hoefler, journalist who first used the term "Silicon Valley" in print [15-Apr]
|
Apr
|
Olivetti S.p.A purchases Volkswagen's controlling interest in Royal Typewriter/Triumph-Adler
|
|
Fairchild Semiconductor purchased from Schlumberger by National Semiconductor
|
Jun
|
Transitron Electronics Corp. announces it is going out of business [29-Jun]
|
|
Elmer R. Easton, former President of Computer Design Corp., forms Three D Graphics Inc.
|
Sep
|
Burroughs Corp. and Sperry Corp. merge to form Unisys Corp.
|
Nov
|
Dr. An Wang steps down as President of Wang Laboratories
|
Nov
|
Dr. An Wang's son, Fred (Director of R&D), named President of Wang Laboratories [19-Nov]
|
|
Bell Punch Co., Ltd. ceases business
|
1987
|
Morris Chang founds Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TSMC) and begins operations as world's first dedicated
|
>>>
|
Silicon IC foundry. Philips Gloeilampfabrieken N.V. largest corporate source of start-up funding and intellectual property.
|
|
SGS Thomson purchases chipmaker Mostek
|
1988
Feb
|
Noted Manhattan Project physicist Richard Feynman passes away [15-Feb]
|
|
Tadao Kashio steps down as President of Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
|
|
Toshio Kashio assumes role as Chairman of the Board of Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
|
Oct
|
Curt Herzstark,
inventor of Curta calculator, passes away [27-Oct]
|
1989
Apr
|
Kōnosuke Matsushita, founder of Matsushita/Panasonic, passes away at age 94 [27-Apr]
|
Aug
|
Frederick Wang, son of founder of Wang Laboratories, Dr. An Wang, resigns as President [8-Aug]
|
Aug
|
Dr. William B. Shockley, co-inventor of transistor, passes away at age 79 [12-Aug]
|
|
Dr. An Wang, founder of Wang Laboratories, diagnosed with high mortality rate esophageal cancer
|
1990
Jan
|
Dr. An Wang loses ability to speak due to esophageal cancer
|
|
K. Hattori & Co. formally renamed Seiko Corporation
|
Mar
|
Dr. An Wang, founder of Wang Laboratories, passes away at age 70 due to complications from esophageal cancer [24-Mar]
|
Jun
|
Robert Noyce, semiconductor technology luminary, passes away at age 62 [3-Jun]
|
|
Omron Tateisi
|
Oct
|
Siemens AG acquires majority equity in Nixdorf Computer AG, to form Siemens Nixdorf Informationsystems AG [1-Oct]
|
1991
Jan
|
Founder of Omron Tateisi Electronics, Kazuma Tateishi, passes Away at 90 Years of Age [12-Jan]
|
|
Pier Giorgio Perotto awarded prestigious Leonardo Da Vinci award for development of the groundbreaking
Olivetti Programma 101
programmable electronic calculator |
|
National Cash Register Corp. (NCR) acquired by American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T)
|
Mar
|
Dr. Julius J. Muray, Vice President of Cintra, Inc., passes away [28-Mar]
|
1992
Aug
|
Wang Laboratories files for Chapter XI bankruptcy protection, 5,000 jobs to be eliminated [18-Aug]
|
1993
Mar
|
Tadao Kashio, co-founder of Casio, passes away at age 75 [4-Mar]
|
Sep
|
Wang Laboratories emerges from August, 1992 Chapter XI Bankruptcy reorganization [20-Sep]
|
1994
Mar
|
Commodore's stock falls to $0.75/share, NYSE halts trading of the company's shares
|
Apr
|
Commodore Business Machines announces closure and liquidation of the company [29-Apr]
|
|
Soundesign Corp. changes company name to SDI Technologies
|
Apr
|
Commodore Semiconductor Group survives closure of parent company through purchase by its management
|
Jun
|
Jay Glenn Miner, early MOS LSI chip design guru General Micro-electronics (GM-e) and American Micro-systems (AMI),
developer of chips for Atari and Commodore, passes away [31-May]
|
1995
Jan
|
George Robert Stibitz, famed Bell Labs Computer Researcher & Designer, passes away [31-Jan]
|
Apr
|
Remains of Commodore Business Machines sold to ESCOM, a German computer manufacturer
|
Jul
|
Smith Corona Corp. files for Chapter XI bankruptcy protection [5-Jul]
|
Nov
|
Passing of Bernard (Barney) Oliver, founding director of HP Laboratories,
and project leader for HP's first calculators, the
HP 9100s and HP-35 calculator, among other notable achievements. [23-Nov]
|
Dec
|
Konrad Zuse, electronic computing pioneer, passes away [18-Dec]
|
1996
Mar
|
David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett Packard, passes away [26-Mar]
|
|
Federico Faggin donates the original prototype for the Busicom 141-PF calculator, the first to use a single-chip
microprocessor, to the
|
>>>
|
Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California
|
1997
|
The Old Calculator Museum first appears on the World Wide Web as a Geocities site
|
|
Fairchild Semiconductor, an independent venture, founded in Portland, Maine
|
Mar
|
National Semiconductor sells its Standard Products Group (created from parts of the "old" Fairchild Camera & Instrument) to newly-formed Fairchild Semiconductor for $550M
|
May
|
Logicon, Inc. acquired by Northrup Grumman for $750M [5-May]
|
Aug
|
William S. Burroughs passes away [2-Aug]
|
Dec
|
Masaru Ibuka, co-founder of Sony, passes away at age 89 [19-Dec]
|
1998
Mar
|
Wang Laboratories acquires Olivetti's Computer Services Division, Olsy, SpA, for $391M; Wang Labs now "Wang Global"
|
Facit AB, after numerous breakups and ownership changes, ceases to exist
|
Sep
|
Public disclosure (after 30 years) of formerly top secret
MP944 CADC microprocessor chip set used
in US Navy's F-14 Tom Cat Jet Fighter via article in the Wall Street Journal [22-Sep]
|
|
Monroe Systems for Business sells off copier, fax, and shredder businesses to Savin, to focus business purely on calculators
|
1999
|
Wang Global (formerly Wang Laboratories) acquired by Dutch company Getronics
|
|
Tsugio Makimoto, GM of Hitachi's Semiconductor Division, leaves Hitachi to join Sony Corp.
|
Oct
|
Akio Morita, co-founder of Sony, passes away at age 78 [3-Oct]
|
2000
Mar
|
William H. Burkhart, prolific calculating machine designer at Monroe Calculating Machine Co., passes away at age 77
|
|
Atsushi Asada, key calculator engineer in the early days of Hayakawa Electric (Sharp) electronic calculators, joins board of directors of Nintendo
|
Sep
|
David Moros, Wang 700 hardware architect and co-inventor of Wang Labs' first Word Processor, passes away from cancer at age 64 [27-Sep]
|
Dec
|
Litton Industries and Northrop Grumman announce buyout of Litton for ~$5.1 billion
|
2001
Jan
|
Bill Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlett Packard, passes away [12-Jan]
|
Feb
|
Co-founder of Computer Design Corporation, and later President of Compucorp, Norman J. Grannis, passes away at age 65 [19-Feb]
|
Apr
|
Northrop Grumman announces completion of purchase of Litton Industries [3-Apr]
|
|
Monroe Systems for Business becomes privately-owned, with HQ in Bristol, PA
|
Sep
|
John P. Stedman, once VP and Director of Operations at Mathatronics, passes away at age 83 [26-Sep]
|
2002
Jan
|
Pier Giorgio Perotto, project leader and architect of the historical
Olivetti Programma 101,
passes away at age of 71 [22-Jan]
|
2003
May
|
Matsushita announces it will globally unify its consumer products under the Panasonic brand name
|
Oct
|
William B. Hugle, founder of Hugle Industries, Hugle International, Siliconix and Stewart-Warner Microcircuits, among others, passes away at age 76 [14-Oct]
|
Dec
|
Howard Z. Bogert, calculator designer and MOS LSI IC designer, passes away at age 68 [28-Dec]
|
2004
Sep
|
Royal goes private, becoming Royal Consumer Information Products, Inc. located in Bridgewater, NJ USA
|
Nov
|
Harold Koplow, winner of contest with Dr. An Wang to write the most efficient
|
>>>
|
microcode, developer of microcode for the
Wang 700-Series
calculators, and later, development of
>>>
|
Wang's breakthrough word processing and small office computing
systems, passes away at age 64 [4-Nov]
|
|
2005
Jun
|
Eiichi Goto, developer of the Parametron, passes away [12-Jun]
|
|
Atsushi Asada(Sharp) retires, leaves position as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nintendo
|
Jun
|
Jack Kilby, inventor of the first Integrated Circuit, and leader in the
design of the
"Cal-Tech"
calculator at Texas Instruments, passes away at age 81 [20-Jun]
|
Jul
|
Dr. Irwin Wunderman, founder of Cintra, Inc., visionary behind development of the
Cintra
909 Scientist and 911 Statistician calculators, and
noted theoretical mathematician and physicist, passes away at age 74 [July 27]
|
Jul
|
Hiro Moriyasu, deeply involved in the formation of the Tektronix calculator division with the acquisition
of Cintra, Inc., passes away at age 70. [July 31]
|
Dec
|
Sales of Casio electronic calculators passes one-billion unit mark
|
Dec
|
Sharp Corporation presented with prestigious "IEEE Milestone in Engineering
and Computing"
|
2006
May
|
Benjamin Friedman, founder of Solitron Devices, Inc. passes away at age 84 [10-May]
|
2007
Jul
|
Árpád Klatsmányi, a pioneer in development of
transistorized
digital electronics in Hungary, passes away at 83 years of age [1-Jul]
|
|
Wyle Laboratories, Inc. changes its name to Wyle, Inc.
|
Nov
|
Acquisition of Tektronix, Inc. by Daniher Corp., making Tektronix an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Daniher Corp. [21-Nov]
|
Dec
|
AMI Semiconductor acquired by On Semiconductor for approximately $915M in stock
|
2008
Jan
|
Karl Diehl, son of Diehl Group founders, passes away at age of 100. [19-Jan]
|
Nov
|
Panasonic and Sanyo announce agreement in principle for Panasonic to acquire majority stake in Sanyo [2-Nov]
|
2009
Apr
|
Hewlett Packard awarded the "IEEE Milestone in Engineering
and Computing" award for the company's development of the
HP-35 calculator, the first handheld scientific electronic calculator
|
Jun
|
Don Farina, MOS IC pioneer at Fairchild, General Micro-electronics and others, passes away at age 78 [11-Jun]
|
Aug
|
Massimo Rinaldi, calculator designer and founder of IME, passes away [16-Aug]
|
Nov
|
Matsushita and Sanyo begin talks relating to Matsushita acquiring Sanyo [3-Nov]
|
Dec
|
Panasonic acquires majority (50.2%) stake in Sanyo with $4.5 billion investment [21-Dec]
|
2010
Mar
|
Passing of Jack J. Bialik, project leader at Stanford Research Institute for
development of CRT display system for Friden calculator [1-Mar]
|
Apr
|
Dr. H. Edward Roberts, founder of MITS, passes away at age 68 [1-Apr]
|
Aug
|
A monument honoring the legacy of Autonetics opens to the public in Anaheim, CA [3-Aug]
|
Jul
|
Panasonic announces that it will acquire all remaining shares of Sanyo, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of Panasonic
|
Sep
|
Frank Wanlass, CMOS IC Inventor, passes away at 77 years of age
|
Nov
|
UK Computer Pioneer Sir Maurice Wilkes, inventor of microprogramming concept, passes away at age 97 [29-Nov]
|
2011
Apr
|
Sanyo Electric Co. becomes wholly-owned subsidiary of Panasonic [1-Apr]
|
Jul
|
Saul Ashkenazi, founder of Realtone Electronics (later, Soundesign; now SDI Technologies) passes away at age 90
|
Aug
|
Dr. Ge Yao (G.Y.) Chu, co-founder with Dr. An Wang of Wang Laboratories, passes away at age 93 [4-Aug]
|
2012
Mar
|
Passing of Mark Pivovonski, age 88, co-inventor of the Monroe
EPIC 2000/
EPIC 3000 calculators, as well
as one of the engineers involved in development of early Monrobot-series computers [11-Mar]
|
2014
2016
Jan
|
James (Phil) Ferguson, integrated circuit technology luminary, passes away at age 85 [16-Jan]
|
Mar
|
Broughton & Co. (Bristol) Ltd. principals file Striking Off (Dissolution) Application for the Company [11-Mar]
|
|
The Casio AL-1 Relay Calculator listed in Japan's National Museum of Nature & Science registry as important achievement in Japanese technological history
|
Aug
|
Broughton & Co. (Bristol) Ltd. ceases operations, ending legacy of Busicom brand name [16-Aug]
|
Aug
|
Frank S. Wyle, founder of Wyle Laboratories, passes away at age 97 [29-Aug]
|
Jul
|
Wyle, Inc. (formerly Wyle Laboratories, Inc.)
purchased by KBR, Inc. for $570M, forming KBRwyle [5-Jul]
|
Oct
|
Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, passes Away at Age 65 [15-Oct]
|
2017
Jan
|
Robert H. Norman, Fairchild Gang-of-Eight Member, GM-e co-founder, Nortec Electronics founder, MOS IC Design Pioneer, passes away at age 89 [21-Jan]
|
Apr
|
Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore, passes away at age 83 [8-Apr]
|
Jun
|
Kevan Heydon, fellow calculator collector and preservationist living
in the UK, passes away due to sudden cardiac arrest at age 50. Rest in
Peace, Kevan. [22-Jun]
|
2018
Jan
|
Tadashi Sasaki, undisputed leader in Japanese electronic calculator technology development and key player in development of the Intel 4004 microprocessor, passes away at age 102 [31-Jan]
|
Sep
|
Untimely passing of Emil Dudek, fellow calculator preservationist, at age 57 [30-Sep]
|
Dec
|
Passing of Michael J. Cochran, extraordinary calculator engineer at Hewlett Packard, Cintra, Tektronix, and Texas Instruments [2-Dec]
|
2019
Feb
|
Jerry Merryman, one of Texas Instruments' key engineers involved in development of TI's revolutionary skunk-works bipolar LSI
Cal-Tech calculator passes away at age 86. [27-Feb]
|
Mar
|
The Old Calculator Museum's exhibit of Wang Laboratories' line of electronic
calculators presented at the 2nd annual Vintage
Computer Festival-Pacific Northwest held at the
Living Computer Museum+Labs in Seattle, WA wins the "Most Interesting Presentation" award. [24-Mar]
|
Dec
|
Charles (Chuck) Peddle, primary designer of the MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, passes away at age 82 [15-Dec]
|
2020
Feb
|
Katherine Johnson, noted NASA computer(mathematician), passes away at age 101. [24-Feb]
|
Mar
|
Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum+Labs in Seattle, WA, closed due to COVID-19 pandemic. Still closed as of May, 2024; future unknown. [5-Mar]
|
Nov
|
The Texas Instruments Cal-Tech prototype electronic calculator from the estate of Jerry Merryman[6/17/1932-2/27/2019], one of its designers, sold at auction for $68,825
|
2021
Apr
|
Lee Boysel
passes away at age 82 [25-Apr]
[Fairchild MOS LSI Disruptive Force,
Developed
First Single Chip Microprocessor Core,
the AL1]
|
Sep
|
Sir Clive Sinclair, founder of Sinclair Radionics and producer of novel calculators and low-cost microcomputers, passes away at age 81 [16-Sep]
|
Nov
|
Royal Consumer Information Products becomes officially licensed partner of Hewlett Packard to
|
>>>
|
produce, distribute, market, and support HP-branded electronic calculators [1-Nov]
|
2023
Mar
|
Gordon E. Moore, Electronics Technology Visionary, Co-Founder of
Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel, and creator of
Moore's Law, passes
away at age 94 [24-Mar]
|
2024
May
|
Passing of
C. Gordon Bell,
computer pioneer, museum founder, historian, influencer, and
|
>>>
|
architect/project leader of a great many of Digital Equipment Corp.'s[DEC] computers. He was 89.
[17-May]
|
Sep
|
Edson De Castro(9/14/1938-9/6/2024) prolific computer design engineer and entrepreneur passes away at age 86.
De Castro was the |
>>>
|
project manager for development of Digital Equipment Corp.'s[DEC] famous
PDP-8 mini-computer.
After leaving DEC, De Castro was the primary founder
|
>>>
|
 of DEC-competitor, Data General Corp., famous for its
Nova line of 16-bit minicomputers
and later 32-bit computers that were serious challengers
|
>>>
|
 for DEC's PDP-11 and VAX computers. [6-Sep]
|
Oct
|
Ward Christensen(10/23/1946-10/11/2024), co-builder/author of the first public computer bulletin board system in Chicago(CBBS, 1978)
as well as inventor
|
>>>
|
and programmer of the XMODEM(1977) serial data protocol for up/download of files (both text and binary) between
serially-connected personal
|
>>>
|
computers, providing file transfers with error-detection/retry, allowing files to be exchanged over noisy phone
lines with acoustic couplers
|
>>>
|
or early direct-connect modems. [11-Oct]
|