Say Happy Birthday to the Original Microprocessor

The Intel4004 was the first CPU on a single chip and also the first available to the commercial market. This week it celebrated it’s 40th birthday! We wish to say thank you to the microprocessor that grandfathered the CPUs we have today. A CPU is the brain of a computer. Known as the central processing unit, every bit of information in or out of a computer goes though the CPU. Just imagine what the Intel 4004, a tiny yet powerful CPU, did for the computing world in 1971. CPUs have come a long way since then, but they continue to be a huge part of our everyday lives.

The Intel 4004 was originally created for a calculator, but it quickly led to technological leaps in computing. Many common devices wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the powerful CPUs born from the Intel 4004.
These products include laptops, streetlights, and cell phones.

We can’t say happy birthday to the Intel 4004 without talking about the engineers responsible for its development. Federico Faggin led the design and development of the Intel 4004 with Ted Hoff, and Stan Mazor. In this ever-changing world of technology we can lose sight of its humble origins. The Intel 4004 was no small player in this.

So take a moment to appreciate the little microprocessor that grandfathered the technological world of today.