
The first computers were developed in the mid-20th century, and the term “computer” has been in use since the early 1800s to refer to a person who performs calculations or computations. However, the modern concept of a computer as an electronic device that can process and store data was developed over time through a series of innovations and technological advances.
One of the earliest known examples of a computer-like device is the abacus, a calculating tool that has been in use for centuries. The first mechanical calculating devices, known as mechanical calculators, were developed in the 17th and 18th centuries. These were followed by electromechanical devices in the 19th century and electronic computers in the 20th century.
The first electronic computer was the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC), which was developed by physicist John Atanasoff and mathematician Clifford Berry in the 1930s. However, the ABC was never completed or fully operational. The first fully operational electronic computer was the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC), which was developed in the United States in the 1940s.
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