History of Computers: Pioneers, Early Machines, ENIAC, Generations and Important Dates for SSC Computer Awareness
Rahul Kumar
SSC Exam Expert & Content Editor
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The history of computers is a favourite topic in computer awareness, with questions such as “Who is the father of the computer?” or “Which was the first electronic computer?”. This guide on history of computers for SSC follows the story from the abacus to the modern machine, with the pioneers, the early computers, the Indian milestones and the important dates, along with practice questions and FAQs.
Early Counting Devices
| Device | Inventor / Period | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Abacus | Ancient (about 3000 BCE) | First calculating device; beads on rods |
| Napier’s Bones | John Napier, 1617 | Rods for multiplication; he also invented logarithms |
| Slide rule | William Oughtred, 1622 | Used logarithms for calculation |
| Pascaline | Blaise Pascal, 1642 | First mechanical calculator; adds and subtracts |
| Stepped Reckoner | Gottfried Leibniz, 1673 | Could multiply and divide |
| Jacquard loom | Joseph Marie Jacquard, 1801 | Used punched cards to control weaving |
Pioneers and Their Contributions
| Person | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Charles Babbage | Father of the computer; designed the Difference Engine (1822) and the Analytical Engine (1837) |
| Ada Lovelace | First computer programmer; wrote a program for the Analytical Engine |
| Herman Hollerith | Tabulating machine (1890) for the US census; founder of the company that became IBM |
| Alan Turing | Turing machine (1936); father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence |
| John von Neumann | Stored program concept (1945); architecture of modern computers |
| Howard Aiken | Harvard Mark I (1944) |
| J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly | Built ENIAC (1946) and UNIVAC |
| Konrad Zuse | Built the Z3 (1941), the first programmable digital computer |
| Tim Berners-Lee | Invented the World Wide Web (1989) |
| Dennis Ritchie | Developed the C language and co-developed UNIX |
| Bill Gates and Paul Allen | Founded Microsoft (1975) |
| Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak | Founded Apple (1976) |
Important Early Computers
| Computer | Year | Facts |
|---|---|---|
| Colossus | 1943 | British machine used to break German codes |
| Harvard Mark I | 1944 | Electromechanical computer built by Howard Aiken with IBM |
| ENIAC | 1946 | First general-purpose electronic digital computer; used vacuum tubes; built at the University of Pennsylvania |
| EDVAC | 1949 | First computer to use the stored program concept |
| EDSAC | 1949 | First practical stored-program computer; built by Maurice Wilkes at Cambridge |
| UNIVAC I | 1951 | First commercial computer |
| IBM 701 | 1952 | First IBM electronic computer |
| Altair 8800 | 1975 | First popular personal computer kit |
| IBM PC | 1981 | Made the personal computer standard |
Generations of Computers
| Generation | Period | Technology |
|---|---|---|
| First | 1940–1956 | Vacuum tubes |
| Second | 1956–1963 | Transistors |
| Third | 1964–1971 | Integrated circuits (IC) |
| Fourth | 1971–present | Microprocessors (VLSI) |
| Fifth | Present and future | Artificial intelligence, parallel processing |
The first microprocessor, the Intel 4004, was released in 1971.
Computers in India
| Milestone | Details |
|---|---|
| First computer in India | HEC-2M, installed at the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, in 1956 |
| First indigenously designed computer in India | TIFRAC (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Automatic Calculator), built at TIFR, Mumbai, in the late 1950s |
| First supercomputer of India | PARAM 8000, developed by C-DAC in 1991; Vijay Bhatkar was the architect |
| Father of the Indian supercomputer | Vijay P. Bhatkar |
| Computer Day in India | December 2 is celebrated as Computer Literacy Day |
| Fastest supercomputer series | PARAM and the National Supercomputing Mission |
Important Facts
- Charles Babbage is called the Father of the Computer and Alan Turing the Father of Computer Science.
- ENIAC weighed about 27 tonnes and used about 18,000 vacuum tubes.
- Ada Lovelace was the daughter of the poet Lord Byron.
- The word “computer” comes from the Latin computare, meaning to calculate.
- The term “bug” for a fault became popular after Grace Hopper found a moth in a Mark II computer.
- Grace Hopper is credited with developing the first compiler and the language COBOL.
Quick Tips
- Learn the pioneers with one line of contribution each.
- Learn the generations with their technology.
- Note the first and the fastest computers of India.
- Remember the years of ENIAC (1946) and Intel 4004 (1971).
Quick Revision Points
- Babbage: Father of the Computer; Ada Lovelace: first programmer.
- ENIAC (1946) used vacuum tubes; UNIVAC I (1951) was the first commercial computer.
- Generations: vacuum tube, transistor, IC, microprocessor, AI.
- PARAM 8000 (1991) was the first Indian supercomputer.
- Turing: Turing machine; von Neumann: stored program.
Practice Questions With Answers
- Who is called the Father of the Computer?
Answer: Charles Babbage - Who was the first computer programmer?
Answer: Ada Lovelace - Which was the first general-purpose electronic digital computer?
Answer: ENIAC - Which technology was used in the second generation computers?
Answer: Transistors - Who developed the PARAM supercomputer in India?
Answer: C-DAC under Vijay Bhatkar - Which was the first commercial computer?
Answer: UNIVAC I - Who invented the World Wide Web?
Answer: Tim Berners-Lee - Who proposed the stored program concept?
Answer: John von Neumann - Which was the first microprocessor?
Answer: Intel 4004 - Who built the Pascaline?
Answer: Blaise Pascal
How to Practise This Chapter
Practise 10 questions every day and write the steps on paper. Then attempt timed sets from our practice papers and the previous year papers page. See all topics on the Computer Knowledge notes page and the next topic CPU and Microprocessor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the father of the computer?
Charles Babbage.
Who was the first programmer?
Ada Lovelace.
Which was the first electronic computer?
ENIAC, built in 1946.
What is the stored program concept?
The idea that both the program and data are stored in the computer’s memory; proposed by John von Neumann.
Which generation used vacuum tubes?
The first generation.
Which generation used integrated circuits?
The third generation.
What is the first Indian supercomputer?
PARAM 8000, developed by C-DAC in 1991.
What was the first computer in India?
The HEC-2M, installed at the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, in 1956; TIFRAC was the first indigenously designed computer.
Who invented the Analytical Engine?
Charles Babbage.
Which language was developed by Dennis Ritchie?
The C language.
Is the history of computers asked in SSC?
Yes. It is a common topic in the computer awareness section.
Who is Grace Hopper?
A computer scientist who developed the first compiler and worked on COBOL.
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Rahul Kumar
SSC Exam Expert & Content Editor
Rahul is a senior SSC exam strategist with 8+ years of experience helping aspirants crack CGL, CHSL and MTS exams. He writes in-depth notification breakdowns, exam pattern guides and preparation strategies.