The first microprocessor was ordered for a Japanese calculator.

1969 · 1971 · apart: 2 years

In 1969 Busicom asked Intel to design a set of chips, and engineer Marcian Hoff proposed putting the processor on a single chip: the Intel 4004.

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The event

• First commercial microprocessor1971 · Santa Clara. In November 1971 Intel released the 4004, the first commercial microprocessor, putting a whole CPU on a single chip with 2,300 transistors. It paved the way for personal computers and ubiquitous digital electronics.

20th century

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