Computer history - 1966
Major computer events in 1966
US President Lyndon Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act into law on July 4, 1966.
Joseph Weizenbaum of MIT wrote a program called ELIZA that made the computer act as a psychotherapist in 1966.
IBM researcher Robert H. Dennard invents DRAM (dynamic random access memory) cells, one-transistor memory cells that store each single bit of information as an electrical charge in an electronic circuit. The technology permits major increases in memory density, and is widely adopted throughout the industry where it remains in widespread use today.
Other computer events in 1966
Hewlett-Packard released its first general computer, the "HP-2115" in 1966.
Lawrence G. Roberts and Tom Marill publish a paper about their earlier success at connecting over dial-up.
Stephen Gray establishes the first personal computer club, the Amateur Computer Society.
Robert Taylor joins ARPA and brings Larry Roberts there to develop ARPANET.
The MUMPS, also known as M, a programming language is first developed by Neil Pappalardo at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
IBM computers process some 19 million Medicare identification cards for the Social Security Administration.
New computer products and services introduced in 1966
The programming language BCPL was created in 1966.
Honeywell released the Honeywell 416 and Honeywell 516 minicomputers in 1966.
Staring in 1966, the Turing Award (from Alan Turing) is given annually by the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) to a person for technical contributions to the computing community.
IBM announced the "Electric" Composer and Magnetic Tape "Electric" Composer for cold-type composition.
IBM released the model 1287 optical reader.
IBM released the 9370 document reproducer.
IBM introduced the IBM 1500, the first system specifically designed for computer-assisted instruction.
IBM released IMPACT, a set of computer programs for inventory control of retail operations.
IBM introduced and System/4 Pi, a special family of aircraft and space computers.
Computer companies founded in 1966
The company we now know as Bestbuy was founded in 1966.
Computer-related movies and TV shows released in 1966
The original Star Trek was shown for the first time on United States NBC September 8, 1966.
Computer pioneers born in 1966
Gary McKinnon was born on February 10, 1966.
Mark Pincus was born on February 13, 1966.
David Filo was born on April 20, 1966.
Jimmy Wales was born on August 7, 1966.
Patrick Volkerding was born on October 20, 1966.
Paul Thurrott was born on October 29, 1966.
Chris DeWolfe was born in 1966.
Mike Culbert was born in 1966.
Computer pioneer deaths in 1966
Albert Hull passed away on January 22, 1966 (Age: 85).
William Eccles passed away on April 29, 1966 (Age: 91).
Louis Couffignal passed away in 1966 (Age: 64).