| Year |
Event |
| 1600 |
William Gilbert coins the term electricity from the Greek word elecktra. |
| 1613 |
The word "computer" was first recorded as being used in 1613 and was originally was used to describe a person who
performed calculations or computations. The definition of a computer remained the same until the end of the 19th century when it began referring
to a machine that performed calculations. |
| 1617 |
John Napier introduced a system called "Napiers Bones," made
from horn, bone or ivory the device allowed the capability of multiplying by adding numbers and dividing by subtracting. |
| 1617 |
John Napier passes away April 4, 1617 (Age: 66-67) |
| 1621 |
The circular slide rule is invented by William Oughtred. |
| 1623 |
Blaise Pascal is born June 19, 1623. |
| 1623 |
The first known workable mechanical calculating machine is invented by Germanys Wilhelm Schickard. The machine
is based on the idea of Napier's Bones, mentioned earlier. |
| 1630 |
Henry Briggs passes away January 26, 1630 (Age: 68) |
| 1630 |
Johannes Kepler is passes away November 15, 1630 (Age:58) |
| 1632 |
William Oughtred of Cambridge combines two Gunter rules to make a device that resembles today's slide rule. |
| 1642 |
Frances Blaise Pascal invents a machine, called the
Pascaline, that can add, subtract, and carry between digits. |
| 1646 |
Gottfried Leibniz is born July 1, 1646. |
| 1650 |
René Descartes passes away February 11, 1650 (Age: 53) |
| 1662 |
Blaise Pascal passes away August 19, 1662 (Age: 39) |
| 1671 |
Gottfried Leibniz introduces the Step Reckoner, a device that can
multiply, divide, and evaluate square roots. |
| 1679 |
Gottfried Leibniz demonstrates binary
arithmetic, a discovery that shows every number can be represented by 0 and 1 only. |
