A microprocessor is a computer's central processing unit built on a single integrated-circuit chip. The first commercially available one was the Intel 4004, released in 1971, which was developed for a Japanese calculator company, Busicom. It was designed by a team that included Federico Faggin, Ted Hoff, Stanley Mazor and Masatoshi Shima, and was a four-bit processor with about 2,300 transistors. It was followed by the 8008 and the more successful 8080, and by competing designs from Motorola and others. By packing the processing power of a room-size computer into a small chip, microprocessors made possible the personal computer in the 1970s and later the many embedded devices that now run in cars, phones and appliances.
Before and after
- January 1971Founding of World Economic Forum
- from 1971 to 1986Salyut programme
- 1971Establishment of Kevladev National Park
- from 1971 to 2001Rise of Japanese Red Army
- 1971Microprocessor
- 1971Email
- 31 January 1971Launch of Apollo 14
- 2 February 1971Ramsar Convention
- 4 February 1971Founding of Nasdaq
More in Science & technology
- 25 April 1953Watson and Crick publish the structure of DNA
- 1973Mobile phone
- 20 November 1985Creation of Microsoft Windows
- July 2000Discovery of livermorium
- August 2003Discovery of moscovium
- 20 October 2004Creation of Ubuntu
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.