Through research and advances made as early as the late nineteenth century, and even before that in some instances, today's computer related technologies have emerged. A major influence in the development of what is now known as the computer were made by the United States military in the 1940's and 1950's. The needs of the military at the time required that a system be created that could aid in the aiming of ballistic military equipment. Today's modern computers are undoubtedly the result of the United States military's early developments and technological advancements in computing. Because of the military's need for the computer earlier this century, great advancements have been, and will continue to be made in the w

Several events and inventions from early this century paved the road for the development that would later occur by the United States military. One example is that of Vannevar Bush. Bush invented a large-scale differential analyzer, a device that was a precursor to the computer. The 1930's saw the first of the electronic computers. In 1935, a scientist named Konrad Zuse developed the Z-1 computer. Soon thereafter, in 1936, John Vincent Atanasoff and John Berry developed the Atanasoff-Berry computer. Later developments made by Bell Telephone Lab led to the creation of the Complex Number Calculator in 1939. Though many of these advancements were helpful, they lacked what was needed by the United States military. However, soon the military would be drawn to the possibilities that were offered by computers (Beveridge).

White, Ron. "How Computers Work Second Edition."

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In 1945, however, a computer system was built that could store the instructions that were needed in order to function. It was built based upon the work of a Hungarian-American named John von Neumann (a mathematician just as Howard Hathaway Aiken was). Now Since the computer could store its instructions in memory, the entire process took much less time. Time restrictions that were the result of feeding rolls of punched paper into the computer were eliminated. In addition to this, the memory allowed for the problems to be solved without having to rewire the computer.

All of the developments made in this century caused the computer to go from a gothic giant that required a room full of employees and dozens to operate to a small machine that could fit on the top of almost any desk. Many of the developments that allowed for this transition resulted because of a push by the military of the day to make machines that could aid in making weapons work more accurately. The effects of the military's needs for a computer system that could do all this has impacted the way corporations, schools, and homes operate down to this day. Many of the advancement

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