Java

Who: Sun Microsystems (Key people: Patrick Naughton, Mike Sheridan, James Gosling, and John Gage -- Director of the Science Office)
What: Originally designed for programming household devices, Java quickly evolved with the World Wide Web, and was re-focused as the language for the internet. It uses a comprehensive standard library (Java Application Programming Interface) at its center. Also, a set of library classes provide an easy way to create graphical user interfaces. It allows a user to create a program with predefined components instead of starting from scratch. Although Java is a simplification of C++, it is a purely object-oriented language.
“Since its introduction in May 1995, the Java platform has been adopted more quickly across the industry than any other new technology in computing history. All major computing platform vendors have signed up to integrate Java technology as a core component of their products.” ( http://java.sun.com/features/1998/05/birthday.html )
When: Project started in 1990-91, originally named Oak. Renamed Java in 1995.
Where: Palo Alto, California
Why: According to Gosling, "The goal was ... to build a system that would let us do a large, distributed, heterogeneous network of consumer electronic devices all talking to each other” (http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~wwwbtb/book/chap1/java_hist.html ). The World Wide Web was growing and Sun was looking for a target market. After trying the cable companies and failing, they asked themselves why not the internet? So they adapted their Java technology into a language for the Internet. It created the idea of applets which function as a way to animate web pages. It is successful because many users that originally new C++ can learn Java very easily and it makes use of extensive libraries to program efficiently. Java simplifies the use of objects.

Three Historical Links

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/computing-history/
This site covers the history of computing machines beginning with Babbage. Babbage proposed a “Difference Engine that was a special-purpose digital computing machine for the automatic production of mathematical tables.” He later designed an Analytical Engine which was intended to be a mechanical digital computer. The programming language ADA is named after Ada Lovelace, who worked closely with Babbage. After Babbage, The site continues through the history of early computing.

http://inventors.about.com/library/blcoindex.htm?once=true&
This site provides a timeline of some of the major milestones in computer history, focusing mostly on PCs.

http://www.maxmon.com/history.htm
This site is the most thorough and interesting one I found. It takes us on a virtual tour through history beginning in the year 350 Million Years BC and ending in 1997 AD. It covers the “development of numbers… the evolution of electronics and the impact of electronics on computing.” Although no one person can take credit for the computer, the site gives credit where it’s due to the more “notable developments and individuals.”