Konrad Zuse was born June 22, 1910 in
Berlin-Wilmersdorf. Before
World War Two Zuse made a digital computer, something that
John van Neumann is usually credited for. Zuse also created the world's first
programming language,
Plankalkül.
1936-1938 - Zuse developed the Z1, the first
binary digital computer. It was destroyed durring the war, but a copy remains in the Museum for Transport and Technology ("Museum fur Verkehr und Technik") in Berlin.
1939 - The Z2 was a
demonstration model for the use of
relays, it was also the basis for the Z3 and fixed many of the stability problems of the Z1. It too was destroyed durring the war.
1941 - Zuse created the first fully funtional program-controlled
electromechanical digital computer, the Z3. This machine was also destroyed in the the war, though a copy was made in 1960 that stands in the the
German Museum ("Deutsches Museum") in
Munich.
1944 - Zuse finished the Z4, it was similar to the Z3, however improved in terms of speed. It also implemented
unconditional branching. It was used in the Institute of Applied
Mathematics in Zurich until 1955. Zuse also transported this machine by horse drawn cart to
Switzerland (which is the reason it was the only of his early machines to have survived the war)
Later on Zuse created Germany's first computer
company Zuse KG (1949-1969), some of their noteworthy machines were the Z5, Z11, Z22, Z23, Z25, Z31, and the Z64.
After 1964 Zuse no longer owned or controlled Zuse KG, leaving him with more time to persue his other hobby, painting. He created hundreds of
oil paintings durring his
life and held a few dozen exhibitions.