Technology & inventions

The first public demonstration of television

In a London room in January 1926, John Logie Baird showed moving images to the public for the first time.

The world’s first cash machine

On 27 June 1967, Barclays in Enfield dispensed cash from a machine for the first time.

Concorde took to the air

The supersonic airliner made its maiden flight from Bristol on 2 March 1967.

Microsoft was founded

Bill Gates and Paul Allen started their company in Albuquerque in April 1975.

Home video arrived

Sony’s Betamax went on sale in 1975, letting people record television for the first time.

Microsoft shipped Windows 1.0

In November 1985, the software that would put a PC on every desk made its first appearance.

Super Mario Bros.

The mustachioed plumber made his proper debut in September 1985 and saved video games.

The first website went online

In December 1990, Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web served its first page at CERN. Almost nobody noticed.

The PlayStation launched

Sony’s first console went on sale in Japan on 3 December 1994.

Google was founded

Larry Page and Sergey Brin registered their company in September 1998. The internet changed forever.

The iMac arrived

In August 1998, Apple’s translucent all-in-one began the company’s comeback.

YouTube was founded

Three former PayPal employees registered the domain in February 2005. The first video was 19 seconds long.

The iPad was announced

Apple’s tablet arrived in April 2010 and created a category overnight.

Instagram launched

The first photo — a dog and a foot — was posted in October 2010.