Bitcoin is created

On this day in 2009, the pseudonymous programmer Satoshi Nakamoto mines the first Bitcoin block--the Genesis Block--and launches the world's first feasible decentralized cryptocurrency and payment system. Unlike traditional money, Bitcoin is created, distributed, traded, and stored using a decentralized ledger system known as a blockchain.

Java is released

On this day in 1996, the first version of Java, a programming language, was released. Originally designed for interactive television, its "write once, run anywhere" feature made it ideal for Internet programming. Initially called "Greentalk" and later "Oak," it was named "Java" after an island in Indonesia where the first coffee was produced, hence the logo.

The first PC virus is written

On this day, in 1982, a 15-year-old named Richard Skrenta writes the first large-scale, self-spreading PC virus code, which is 400 lines long and disguised as an Apple II boot program called "Elk Cloner."

 Google Maps is launched

In 2004, Google acquired Where 2 Technologies and Keyhole, and the new team of 50 people set out building a digital map that was searchable, scrollable, and zoomable. Google Maps launched on this day a year later, revolutionizing the way we navigate our world.

Deep Blue VS Garry Kasparov

On this day in 1996, IBM's Deep Blue premieres at the ACM Chess Challenge in a six-game match with world champion Garry Kasparov. Although Kasparov won by 4-2, he would be defeated in a rematch in 1997, which marked the first defeat of a reigning world chess champion by a computer.

ENIAC is unveiled

 ENIAC, the first fully electronic computer, is unveiled by its creators, J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, at the University of Pennsylvania. Occupying over 1,5000 square feet and weighing 30 tons, it calculated 5,000 operations per second, 1,000 times faster than its contemporaries.

Six women were selected to configure and interconnect ENIAC's components according to required computational functionality, handle punch-card input, troubleshooting, and even replace vacuum tubes. Their contribution to the program wasn't acknowledged until the mid 1980s.

APT is demonstrated

On this day in 1959, the Automatically Programmed Tool (APT) is demonstrated at MIT. APT is a computer programming language used to generate instructions for numerically controlled machine tools. This early language was used widely through the 1970s and is still a standard internationally.

An Wang sells core memory patent to IBM

Consisting of "tiny donuts" of magnetic material strung on wires into an array, Magnetic Core Memory became the principal method of random access storage from the 50s until the 70s, when it was replaced by semiconductor memory chips. On this day in computing history, in 1956, its inventor An Wang sold his patent to IBM. Later it was perfected by Jay Forrester and used in MIT's Whirlwind.

Homebrew Computer Club meets for the first time

On this day in 1975, the Homebrew Computer Club held its first meeting in its co-founder Gordon French's garage in Menlo Park, California. A forum for trading electronic parts and ideas, it attracted a group of computer hobbyists, including Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and several future leaders in personal computers.

First Pi Day is celebrated

Happy Pi Day! Created by the Greek mathematician Archimedes in 250 B.C., the constant–the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter–gave its name to March 14 at San Francisco's Exploratorium in 1988. To this day scientists are still trying to learn more digits of pi. How many can you memorize?

Excel 4.0 is released

Happy birthday to Excel 4.0, released on this day in 1992! Compared to its predecessors, its new features included AutoFill and a large number of functions and shortcuts. Along with other practical applications developed by Microsoft and other companies, it made personal computers more appealing to home and office users and shaped the way we work.

UNIVAC I is received by the US Census Bureau

The first commercial general-use computer, UNIVAC I was developed for the US Census Bureau and is delivered on this day in 1951. Later next year it would be used to predict the result of the 1952 Presidential election.

Marc Andreessen Founds Netscape with Jim Clark

On this day in 1994, University of Illinois graduate Marc Andreessen and Silicon Graphics' Jim Clark created Mosaic Communications Corporation. By December, they renamed the company Netscape Communications and launched Netscape Navigator 1.0, which went on to become the de facto browser in early 1995. Although its market dominance didn't last long, its tense rivalry with Microsoft paid the way for innovation in the browsing space.

LISP is unveiled by John McCarthy and his team

On this day in 1959, "LISP," the first AI programming language, was introduced to the world by computer pioneer John McCarthy and his team. Specifically designed to facilitate research in AI, the language was distinctive for its simplicity and flexibility and its ability to manipulate symbolic expressions. 

Researchers run the first FORTRAN program

One of the oldest high-level programming languages still in use today, FORTRAN, or FORMula TRANslator, ran for the first time at Westinghouse on this day in 1957. Developed by the IBM team led by ACM Turing Laureate John Backus, it made programming more intuitive and was quickly adopted on a wide scale.
 

IBM 704 is announced

On this day in 1954, the IBM 704 was announced. The first mass-produced computer to incorporate indexing and floating point arithmetic, it became a commercial success, with both FORTRAN and LISP were first developed for it.
 

Bob Metcalfe writes the memo describing the Ethernet network

On this day in 1973, Bob Metcalfe, a member of the research staff at Xerox Palo Alto Ranch Center, wrote the now famous memo describing the Ethernet network system he had been working on to interconnect advanced computer workstations. Patented in 1975 as a "multipoint data communication system with collision detection," Ethernet is now the most widely-installed LAN protocol and an international computer industry standard.

The first telegram is received

  On this day in 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse inaugurated the world's first commercial telegraph line. In this historical moment, he sent the message “What hath God wrought?” from Washington to Baltimore, marking a significant advancement in communication technology. Morse's telegraph system revolutionized communication, aiding American expansion.
 

Ada Lovelace meets Charles Babbage

Ada Lovelace met mathematician Charles Babbage, at a party on this day in 1833 and was entranced when Babbage demonstrated his work to her. Babbage had grand plans for a computer called the Analytical Engine, for which Lovelace wrote what many consider to be the first algorithm.

The first GIF is released

Stephen Wilhite was working at CompuServe in 1987 when he and his team created a new format that allowed users to share compressed image files with ease. The first GIF, short for graphics interchange format, was released on this day. The looping animal format went on to become "a universal language for conveying humor, sarcasm and angst on social media and in instant messages."

Keyboard input on computers debuts on MIT Whirlwind

On this day in 1956, MIT's Whirlwind computer became the first to allow its user to enter commands through a keyboard, a revolutionary solution at a time when instructions were communicated by inserting punched cards and changing dials and switches.