Computer history - 1600's

Year	Event
1600	William Gilbert coins the term electricity from the Greek word elecktra.
1613	The word "computer" was first recorded as being used in 1613 and was originally was used to describe 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 machine that performed calculations.
1617	John Napier introduced a system called "Napiers Bones," made from horn, bone or ivory the device allowed the capability of multiplying by adding numbers and dividing by subtracting.
1617	John Napier passes away April 4, 1617 (Age: 66-67)
1621	The circular slide rule is invented by William Oughtred.
1623	Blaise Pascal is born June 19, 1623.
1623	The first known workable mechanical calculating machine is invented by Germanys Wilhelm Schickard. The machine is based on the idea of Napier's Bones, mentioned earlier.
1630	Henry Briggs passes away January 26, 1630.
1632	William Oughtred of Cambridge combines two Gunter rules to make a device that resembles today's slide rule.
1642	Frances Blaise Pascal invents a machine, called the Pascaline, that can add, subtract, and carry between digits.
1646	Gottfried Leibniz is born July 1, 1646.
1662	Blaise Pascal passes away August 19, 1662.
1671	Gottfried Leibniz introduces the Step Reckoner, a device that can multiply, divide, and evaluate square roots.
1679	Gottfried Leibniz demonstrates binary arithmetic, a discovery that shows every number can be represented by 0 and 1 only.