Computer history - 1600s
Listed below are the important events in history relating to computers in the 1600s.
1600
William Gilbert coined the term electricity from the Greek word elecktra.
The Microsoft Windows epoch time was set to start on January 1, 1601.
1605
Francis Bacon devices the Baconian Cipher, a cipher that used A's and B's to encode messages.
1613
The word "computer" was first used in 1613 and originally described 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 calculating machine.
Claude Perrault was born on September 25, 1613.
1614
John Napier illustrated and put forward the idea of logarithms.
1617
John Napier introduced "Napier's Bones," a device made from a horn (bone or ivory). The device allowed multiplying by adding numbers and dividing by subtracting.
Tito Burattini was born on March 8, 1617.
John Napier passed away on April 4, 1617 (Age: 66-67).
1621
The circular slide rule was invented by William Oughtred.
1623
Blaise Pascal was born on June 19, 1623.
The first known workable mechanical calculating machine was invented by Germany's Wilhelm Schickard. The machine was based on the idea of Napier's Bones, mentioned earlier.
1625
Samuel Morland was born in 1625.
1626
Francis Bacon passed away on April 9, 1626 (Age: 65).
Edmund Gunter passed away on December 10, 1626 (Age: 45).
1630
Henry Briggs passed away on January 26, 1630 (Age: 68).
Johannes Kepler passed away on November 15, 1630 (Age: 58).
1632
William Oughtred of Cambridge combines two Gunter rules to make a device that resembles today's slide rule.
1635
Robert Hooke was born on July 28, 1635.
Wilhelm Schickard passed away on October 24, 1635 (Age: 43).
1642
Frances Blaise Pascal invented a machine called the Pascaline that adds, subtracts, and carries between digits.
Isaac Newton was born on December 25, 1642.
1646
Gottfried Leibniz was born on July 1, 1646.
1650
René Descartes passed away on February 11, 1650 (Age: 53).
1662
Blaise Pascal passed away on August 19, 1662 (Age: 39).
1671
Gottfried Leibniz introduced the Step Reckoner, a device that multiplies, divides, and evaluates square roots.
1679
Gottfried Leibniz demonstrated binary arithmetic, a discovery that shows every number can be represented by 0 and 1 only.
1681
Tito Livio Burattini passed away on November 17, 1681 (Age: 64).
1688
Claude Perrault passed away in 1688 (Age: 75).
1695
Samuel Morland passed away on December 30, 1695 (Age: 70).