1898 Sir Joseph John Thomson (1856-1940) discovers the electron

1900 Max Planck describes quantum effect

1902 February 10 - Dr. Walter Brattain born

1905 Einstein described his theory of relativity

1906 Lee De Forest invents radio amplifier

1908 May 23 - Dr. John Bardeen born

1910 February 13 - Dr. William Shockley born

1912 Lee De Forest invents telephone amplifier

1919 Proton discovered

1921 Albert Einstein wins Nobel prize

1930 Quantum Mechanics meets Semiconductors

1932 Quantum theory of solids developed

1939 Electron microscope invented

1940 Russell Ohl discovers P-N junction

1945 Shockley & Morgan assemble solid state research teams

1946 ENIAC, the pioneering electronic digital computer, uses 18,000 vacuum tubes

1947 December 16, invention of point-contact transistor

1948 January, Shockley invents junction transistor;  The military is informed about transistors

1949 First Germanium transistors sold

1950 Transistors developed at Bell Labs

1951 Junction transistor developed, J Bardeen leaves Bell Labs

1952 Bell shares the technology

1953 First product to use transistor sold: hearing aids

1954 First transistor radio;   First fully transistorized computer;  Texas Instruments makes silicon transistor

1955 Albert Einstein dies

1956 Shockley leaves Bell Labs; Nobel Physics Prize Awarded to Shockley, Brattain & Bardeen

1957 "Traitorous Eight" establish Fairchild Semiconductor Co.; Superconductivity theory described by Bardeen et al

1958 Jack Kilby invents the integrated circuit

1960 First "Mini" Computer

1961 Fairchild & Texas Instruments sell integrated circuits

1965 "Moore's Law" predicts the rate of growth of integrated circuit components

1967 First hand held calculators

1968 G Moore & R Noyce leave Fairchild to form Intel Corp

1971 T Hoff invents the microprocessor (with 2300 transistors)

1972 Dr. John Bardeen wins 2nd Nobel Prize for work in Superconductivity

1975 William (Bill) Gates and Paul Allen start Microsoft Corporation

1981 IBM PC;  First Space Shuttle launch

1989 World Wide Web begins