Welcome to the latest edition of On This Day where we examine events that occurred on this day in technology history. AltaVista cuts over 200 jobs and the idea of the Harvard Mark I computer is developed.
1938 – The Idea of Harvard Mark I
In a memorandum written to fellow scientists working for IBM, J.W. Bryce, head of scientists at IBM, outlines the development of the Harvard Mark I. Upon completion in 1944, the Harvard Mark I will become the first fully automatic computer. The company was presented with the idea in 1937 by inventor Howard Aiken.
2000 – AltaVista Cut Staff
AltaVista announces its intentions to cut about a quarter of its workforce, or about two hundred employees. AltaVista was once the most popular search engine on the internet but by 2000 was experiencing a decline thanks to the success of Google.
