Views into the Future from the Recent Past
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Konrad Zuse develops a fully programmable digital computer.
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Actress Hedy Lamarr designs a radio guidance system for torpedoes based on automatic frequency hopping—and thus a precursor of Wi-Fi.
- Emergence of Cybernetics
In the United States, Norbert Wiener establishes a science for regulating and controlling machines analogous to the human brain and social organizations.
- Atomic Bombs Dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6 and 9, these Japanese cities are largely destroyed in attacks by the American military; hundreds of thousands die as a result.
- End of World War II
On May 8, World War II ends in Europe, and on September 2 it ends in the Pacific.
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UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) is founded.
- First Universal Computer
The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) is used to calculate artillery range tables and is programmed mainly by women.
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Hungarian-British physicist Dennis Gabor invents holography.
- Invention of the Transistor
The electronic semiconductor is used in communication technologies, power electronics, and computer systems.
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British doctor Nicholas H. L. Ridley inserts the first artificial intraocular lens into a human eye.
- Development of the Turing Test
Alan Turing uses a test to evaluate machine intelligence: a human conducts a conversation with two unknown interlocutors, one of whom is a computer.
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First issue of the manga series “Tetsuwan Atomu” (Iron Arm Atom) by Osamu Tezuka: Astro Boy is an autonomous robot with superhuman powers.
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American citizen Christine Jorgensen undergoes gender reassignment surgery in Denmark and becomes the first transgender activist.
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The newsletter “Transvestia: The Journal of the American Society for Equity in Dress” is the first transgender publication to appear in the United States.
- Detonation of the First Hydrogen Bomb
Conducted on November 1 on an atoll in the Marshall Islands.
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Molecular biologists James Watson and Francis Crick decode the double helix structure of DNA.
- Birth of Industrial Robotics
A patent is filed for Unimate, the first programmable robot: an industrial robot with an arm and gripper used in the automotive industry.
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The world’s first nuclear power plant is built in Obninsk near Moscow.
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The first wireless remote control is invented.
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Rosa Parks’s refusal, as a Black woman, to give up her bus seat leads to her arrest and a boycott: the African-American civil rights movement begins.
- Development of Artificial Cells
Artificial blood substitute is obtained from modified hemoglobin.
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Marvin Minsky establishes the scientific discipline of artificial intelligence (AI), which ultimately aims to replace humans.
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The Soviet Union sends the first satellite, Sputnik 1, into space on October 4. On November 3, Laika the dog flies into space aboard Sputnik 2.
- First Cochlear Implant
The electronic device replaces the damaged inner ear. It stimulates the auditory nerve and serves as a prosthesis for the hard of hearing.
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Physician Åke Senning and engineer Rune Elmqvist develop an implantable pacemaker.
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The term “cyborg,” short for “cybernetic organism,” appears for the first time in the journal “Astronautics.”
- Germany’s First Birth Control Pill
The contraceptive pill Anovlar is launched in the Federal Republic of Germany. Initially, it can only be given to married women with at least three children.
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April 12: Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space.
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First breast augmentation with silicone implant
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The first television satellite is launched into space.
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NASA’s “Rocket Girls,” including African-American Katherine Johnson, calculate space mission trajectories—defying racism and sexism.
- March on Washington
On August 28, 200,000 people gather at the Lincoln Memorial to demonstrate in favor of an end to racial discrimination.
- Development of the Belgrade Hand
Yugoslav engineer Rajko Tomović designs the multifunctional prosthesis. Its fingers can grasp upon receiving an electrical signal from a control panel.
- Invention of the Digital Camera
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President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act, desegregating public facilities in the United States.
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Military involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War
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Founding of the American activist organization NOW (National Organization for Women)
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“Fantastic Voyage” hits movie theaters: a tiny submarine embarks on a journey through the body of a comatose patient to stop a blood clot.
- Color Television in Germany
On August 25, Willy Brandt launches color television broadcasts with a symbolic push of a button. They had already existed in the United States since 1954.
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The hippie movement celebrates the “Summer of Love.”
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Doping tests are conducted for the first time at international sports competitions.
- First Heart Transplant
Following the operation by South African heart surgeon Christiaan Barnard, the patient survives only 18 days.
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The Portapak portable video camera initiates video art.
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Students protest globally against the Vietnam War and social structures.
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In West Germany, the failure to confront the country’s Nazi past becomes an issue.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Is Dead
The civil rights activist is assassinated on April 4. His death leads to riots and demonstrations in numerous American cities.
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The “Red Power” movement in the United States combats discrimination against indigenous people, broken treaties, and advocates sovereignty and self-determination.
- The Forerunner of the Internet
The American Air Force’s ARPANET military computer network enables communication between computers for the first time.
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Stanley Kubrick’s film “2001: A Space Odyssey” delegates key decisions on a Jupiter mission to the HAL 9000 computer.
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The American Navy develops the Minsky Arm: a pioneer of computer-based artificial intelligence that can perform simple tasks with precision.
- Neil Armstrong Sets Foot on the Moon
- Woodstock Festival
400,000 people celebrate “peace and music” for three days.
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A police raid on New York’s Stonewall Inn escalates and marks the beginning of the Gay Liberation Front. Annual Pride parades commemorate the event.
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Optical fiber revolutionizes information technology.
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Expo ’70 World Fair in Osaka showcases latest developments in technology. 77 countries exhibit, 64 million people visit the show.
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Japanese computer scientist Takeo Kanade presents his fully automated face recognition system at the Expo in Osaka.
- The Computer Tomograph Delivers its First Images
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Ray Tomlinson sends the first email.
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The Club of Rome publishes its report “The Limits to Growth.”
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The Magnavox company introduces the first game console.
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Atari releases “Pong,” the first commercially successful video game.
- The First Genetic Engineering Experiment
The First Genetic Engineering Experiment
Biochemists Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen insert the DNA of a frog into a bacterium. - Oil Crisis
The Arab states cut oil production and impose an embargo. The price of oil quadruples, and car-free Sundays are decreed in the Federal Republic of Germany.
- The First Personal Computer
“Popular Electronics” magazine introduces the first PC, the Altair 8800, as a DIY-kit for $397, prompting thousands of orders.
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Andreas Pavel patents his “Stereophonic Reproduction System for Personal Wear.” In 1979, Sony launches the Walkman.
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The first test-tube baby is born in Great Britain through in vitro fertilization.
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The band Kraftwerk releases its album “Die Mensch-Maschine.”
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The legendary video game “Pac-Man” is released.
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The first automatic defibrillator is implanted in a human being.
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Sony develops the first digital surveillance camera.
- The Chaos Computer Club Is Founded in Hamburg
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Ridley Scott’s film “Blade Runner” contemplates the life of androids.
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The Motorola Dynatac 8000X, the first cell phone, is introduced: retractable antenna, battery life 35 minutes.
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Luc Montagnier and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi discover HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. Both receive the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2008.
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The history of forensic DNA analysis begins with the (accidental) discovery of the genetic fingerprint.
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A patent is filed for 3-D printing.
- A Manifesto for Cyborgs
Donna Haraway writes her legendary “Cyborg Manifesto,” rejecting rigid boundaries between humans and machines: the beginning of a posthumanist-feminist theory.
- Explosion of the Nuclear Reactor in Chernobyl
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Yoshizumi Ishino discovers the CRISPR sequence and paves the way for “genome editing”: DNA gene segments are excised and replaced by others.
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Development of the first commercial virtual reality glasses.
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American athlete Dennis Oehler uses carbon prostheses for the first time at the Paralympics, winning the 100m, 200m, and 400m sprints with new world records.
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The US Department of Education creates the “Tech Act,” a law for technology-related assistance for individuals with disabilities.
- 3-D Bioprinting
A new method of micropositioning cells to build two- and three-dimensional synthetic tissues using a special 3-D printer is developed.
- First “Worm” Attack on the Internet
American student Robert Tappan Morris develops a program that paralyzes ten percent of the 88,000 computers connected to the internet at the time.
- Fall of the Berlin Wall
- Invention of the WWW
At the CERN research center near Geneva the World Wide Web is created on the basis of a hypertext system.
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Nintendo launches the Game Boy.
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The “Trojan Room Coffee Pot Camera” transmits images of a coffee machine from a laboratory in Cambridge University to the world—and is considered the first webcam.
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“Merry Christmas”: a PC sends the first text message to a cell phone.
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The MPEG-1 standard for compressing digitally stored audio data is introduced.
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Sony develops the robot dog Aibo, which can walk, move its ears and tail, produce sounds, and publish self-made pictures on the internet.
- End of apartheid in South Africa
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Sony’s PlayStation game console is launched.
- Dolly the Sheep
The first cloned mammal is created in Great Britain.
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The virtual chick Tamagotchi, which has to be cared for like a real pet, invades children’s rooms all over the world.
- C-Leg—a Milestone in Prosthetics
The prosthetic leg controlled by a microprocessor reacts intelligently and in real time to everyday situations.
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Willem van Eelen receives the first patent for the production of in vitro meat.
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Cybernetics researcher Kevin Warwick has a silicon chip implanted in his arm to become the first human cyborg.
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The movie “Matrix” speculates that the world as we perceive it is just a machine-generated computer simulation that uses humans as energy dispensers.
- Decoding of the Human Genome
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Humanity as a geological factor: chemist and atmospheric scientist Paul J. Crutzen coins the term “Anthropocene” with Eugene F. Stoermer.
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PARO, a therapy robot in the form of a fluffy seal equipped with tactile sensors, is presented to the public in Japan.
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The neurotoxin Botox is approved for cosmetic use.
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The Anonymous collective is created in the 4chan forum: users can post texts or pictures anonymously, and “Anonymous” is named as the author.
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Neil Harbisson, who is color blind, has an antenna implanted in his head. He can now hear colors and connect to other devices via Bluetooth.
- Google Earth Goes Online.
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German travel documents contain biometric data.
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A complete face transplant succeeds for the first time.
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Bina48, the “world’s most sentient robot,” is modeled on a human: a human consciousness in a synthetic body.
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Steve Jobs presents the first iPhone.
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Gary Wolf and Kevin Kelly found the “Quantified Self” movement: Self-tracking of biological and physical data is used to evaluate and optimize people.
- The First Bionic Hand
The i-Limb hand is moved by muscle movements in the arm stump that control electrical signals.
- Invention of the Cryptocurrency Bitcoin
An individual or group named Satoshi Nakamoto releases open-source reference software for the first digital currency.
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Instagram goes online.
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Chelsea Manning submits classified documents on American wartime operations to the WikiLeaks disclosure platform, causing a worldwide uproar.
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iPhone assistant Siri is the first voice control for mobile devices.
- Meltdown at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
- Breakthrough for Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Alex Krizhevsky, Ilya Sutskever, and Geoffrey Hinton design an artificial neural network modeled on human decision-making capabilities.
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Oscar Pistorius competes in the London Olympics as a bilateral amputee.
- Black Lives Matter
“Neighborhood watchman” George Zimmerman shoots and kills Black teenager Trayvon Martin in the United States. His acquittal sparks a transnational movement.
- Prostheses from a 3-D Printer
Open-source programs make it possible to manufacture your own individual and custom-fit prostheses.
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“Time” magazine ranks the selfie stick among the 25 best inventions of the year.
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The mass of electronic waste in China reaches 12.3 million tons.
- Racist Algorithms
After only 16 hours, Microsoft deactivates its Twitter chatbot “Tay,” which learned and published discriminatory tweets from other users.
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Hunting virtual mythical creatures collectively in real environments: “Pokémon Go” conquers the world.
- Same-Sex Marriage
Germany introduces the right to marry for people of the same sex.
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REEM, the first AI-equipped police robot, begins its role as a service worker in Dubai.
- Doping for the Brain
Electrodes implanted in the brain improve the memory of those tested by 15 percent.
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The action-adventure video game “Detroit: Become Human” addresses the use of androids in industry, commerce, and services as a dystopian scenario.
- Fridays for Future
Greta Thunberg demonstrates in front of the Swedish parliament for more climate protection; a worldwide climate movement forms.
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The “Act to Amend the Information to be Entered in the Birth Register” enables the entry “diverse” in Germany.
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During the coronavirus pandemic, a mRNA vaccine is developed. It introduces the blueprint of a virus molecule into body cells, which activates the immune system.
- Tourists in Space
SpaceX launches an all-civilian crew into the earth’s orbit.