3874 entries. Last updated May 21, 2013.

Human-Computer Interaction Timeline Outline

  • Eras
  • Themes

1900 – 1910

Revealing a Hidden Image in a Newspaper Article
(1901 – October 24, 2012)

1920 – 1930

Robot
(1920)

1950 – 1960

Whirlwind is in Limited Operation
(1950)

The First OCR System: "GISMO"
(1951)

The First Graphical Display for a Computer
(April 20, 1951)

The First Graphical Computer Game
(1952)

The First Trackball
(1952)

Perhaps the First Computer-Controlled Aesthetic System
(1953)

The First Light Pen
(1954)

Intelligence Amplification by Machines
(1956)

Physically the Largest Computers Ever Built
(1957)

The TX-2 Computer for the Study of Human-Computer Interaction
(1959)

Human Versus Machine Intelligence and Communication
(1959)

The PDP-1: Programmed Data Processor, Not Called a Computer
(December 1959)

1960 – 1970

The First Electronic Learning System
(1960)

Man-Computer Symbiosis
(March 1960)

"Online Man-Computer Communication"
(Circa June 1962)

Augmenting Human Intellect
(October 1962)

The First Graphical User Interface
(1963)

Foundation of Engelbart's Augmentation Research Center
(1963)

The "Intergalactic Computer Network"
(April 25, 1963)

Machine Perception of Three Dimensional Solids
(May 1963 – 1965)

Touch-Tone Dialing is Introduced
(November 1963)

The First Plasma Video Display (Neon Orange)
(1964)

Origins of Automated Facial Recognition
(1964 – 1966)

One of the Earliest Tablet Computers and the First Reference to Electronic Ink
(August 1964)

"Libraries of the Future"
(1965)

Coining the Terms Hypertext, Hypermedia, and Hyperlink
(1965)

Programming Language for Education and Games
(1965 – 1969)

First System for Interactive Display of Molecular Structures
(1966)

The "Coons Patch"
(June 1967)

Invention of the Computer Mouse
(June 27, 1967)

First Virtual Reality Head Mounted Display System
(1968)

Commercializing the Use of Computers as Simulators
(1968)

"2001: A Space Odyssey"
(1968)

Features of the Future ARPANET
(April 1968)

Hypertext, Text Editing, Windows, Email and a Mouse
(December 8, 1968)

The First ATM
(Circa 1969 – 1970)

1970 – 1980

Xerox PARC is Founded
(1970)

The Architecture Machine
(1970)

First Test of Magnetic Stripe Transaction Card Technology
(January 1970 – May 1973)

Speech Recognition Technology
(1971)

One of the First Touchscreens
(1972)

SPACEWAR: Fanatic Life and Symbolic Death Among the Computer Bums
(December 7, 1972)

Conceptually, the First Personal Computer System
(1973)

Probably the World's First Online Community
(1973)

Invention of the Word "Internet"
(Circa 1973)

The Brain-Computer Interface
(1973)

The First Computer Role-Playing Game, Dungeons & Dragons
(1974 – 1975)

Manifesto of the Microcomputer Revolution
(1974)

The Roots of the PostScript Page Description Language
(1975 – 1978)

The First Personal Computer Sold as a Fully Assembled Product
(1977)

Early Interactive Computing and Virtual Reality
(1978 – 1979)

1980 – 1990

The Xerox Star: The "Office of the Future"
(1981)

Blade Runner
(1982)

Microsoft Word 1.0
(September 1983)

On of the First Commercially Available Touchscreen Computers
(November 1983)

The Greatest PC Keyboard of All Time?
(1984)

Apple Introduces the "Mac"
(January 24, 1984)

Kasparov Defeats 32 Different Chess Computers
(1985)

Windows 1.0
(November 20, 1985)

The First Commercially Available Tablet Computer
(September 1989)

1990 – 2000

The First "Search Engine" but Not a "Web Search Engine"
(1990)

Development of Neural Networks
(1993)

The Singularity
(January 1993)

Chinook, a Computer Checkers Program, Defeats the Human World Checkers Champion
(1994)

Cyberpsychology
(January 1996)

IBM Deep Blue Defeats Gary Kasparov
(May 11, 1997)

2000 – 2005

Conflicts between Androids and Men
(2001)

Minority Report
(2002)

Second Life is Launched
(2003)

The Actroid
(November 2003 – 2007)

2005 – 2010

Kosmix.com
(2005)

Codex in Crisis
(November 5, 2007)

2011 – 2013

Voice-Activated Translation on Cell Phones
(January 12, 2011)

How Search Engines Have Become a Primary Form of External or Transactive Memory
(July 14, 2011)

Amazon Introduces the Kindle Fire
(September 28 – November 14, 2011)

Apple Introduces iBooks 2, iBooks Author, and iTunes U
(January 19, 2012)

Windows 8, With Touch Screen Features, is Released
(October 26, 2012)

2013 – Present

An Innovative Interactive Museum Gallery Space with the Largest Multi-Touch Screen in the United States
(January 21, 2013)

Drone Pilots Experience Stress Possibly Greater than Actual Combat Pilots
(February 23, 2013)

Smartphone Interactive Reading Device Will Track Eyes to Scroll Pages
(March 4, 2013)