Culture

Time line: Three decades of Apple innovation

From Apple II to the Mac and iPod, Jobs and company have kept on innovating--and gaining rabid fans along the way.

Jan. 12, 2009 4:29 p.m. PT

5 min read

Apple celebrates 30 years

When Apple Computer was founded in 1976, its flagship product was the clunky Apple I, Gerald Ford was in the White House, and Steven Spielberg was one of the hottest directors in Hollywood. Thirty years later, the tiny Apple iPod is a pop-culture phenomenon, and George W. Bush is president. Spielberg, of course, is still cranking out the Hollywood hits.

	Product releases	People	Apple milestones	World events
1976	Apple I	Steven Paul Jobs, Stephen Gary Wozniak and Ronald Gerald Wayne found Apple Computer	Company is founded	U.S. celebrates bicentennial	1976
1977	Apple II	Michael M. Scott is first Apple president Armas Clifford "Mike" Markkula joins Apple	Apple logo designed by Rob Janoff	President Jimmy Carter inaugurated First "Star Wars" movie released Elvis dies	1977
1978	Disc II	Jef Raskin joins Apple	Company moves into new Cupertino headquarters	People's Temple mass suicide in Guyana	1978
1979	Apple II+		Introduces first printer, the Silentype Now employs 250 people working out of four buildings	Nuclear reactor accident at Three Mile Island Americans taken hostage in Iran	1979
1980	Apple III		Goes public with 4.6 million shares	U.S. hockey team upsets Soviets IBM personal computer announced John Lennon shot	1980
1981		Markkula becomes president, Jobs chairman	European headquarters open in Paris and Slough, England Wozniak's single-engine, six-seat plane crashes	President Ronald Reagan sworn in Reagan shot Prince Charles, Lady Diana Spencer wed	1981
1982		Raskin resigns	Takes legal action to stop cloning of Apple II Woz produces US Festival Hits $1 billion in annual sales	"E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" opens in theaters Permanent artificial heart implanted in human for first time	1982
1983	Lisa Apple IIe	John Sculley named president, CEO	Lisa and Mac divisions combined	Michael Jackson's "Thriller" tops album charts for the first of 37 weeks "M.A.S.H" goes off the air Sally Ride is first U.S. woman in space U.S. and Caribbean allies invade Grenada	1983
1984	Mac 128k Apple IIc	Andy Hertzfeld, one of the main authors of the Macintosh system software, leaves Apple	Landmark Super Bowl ad, by "Blade Runner" director Ridley Scott, introduces the Mac	William Gibson coins term "cyberspace" in his novel "Neuromancer" Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi assassinated Poison gas escapes Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India Bishop Desmond Tutu wins Nobel Peace Prize	1984
1985		Sculley reduces Jobs' role Woz resigns Jobs resigns, forms Next Software	Windows 1.01 released President Reagan present Jobs and Wozniak with National Technology Medal	Mikhail Gorbachev named new Soviet leader	1985
1986	Mac Plus	Jobs establishes Pixar, buying Lucasfilm's computer graphics group for $10 million	Apple Programmers and Developers Association (APDA) formed	Space Shuttle Challenger explodes Fox television network premieres	1986
1987	Mac II Mac SE			Iran-Contra hearings begin Black Monday; DJIA falls	1987
1988		Jean-Louis Gassee named president of Apple Products	Acquires Network Innovations Sues Microsoft over GUI	Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland	1988
1989	Mac Portable		Acquires Coral Software Sued by the Beatles' Apple Corps over music Sued by Xerox over GUI	George Bush inaugurated Tiananmen Square crackdown Loma Prieta earthquake hits San Francisco Bay Area Fall of Berlin Wall	1989
1990	Mac LC	Jean-Louis Gassee resigns, co-founds Be	Lists on Tokyo Stock Exchange	Apartheid dismantled in South Africa Antonia Novello sworn in as first Hispanic/female U.S. surgeon general	1990
1991	PowerBook 100		Chooses Fountain, Colo., as site for new manufacturing plant Announces 10 international language versions of System 7	First Gulf War starts	1991
1992			Number of customers using System 7 reaches 4 million Reaches first $2 billion-revenue quarter	Rodney King verdict sparks L.A. riots Johnny Carson retires from "Tonight Show"	1992
1993	Newton MessagePad	Michael Spindler named CEO, Sculley chairman Sculley resigns	PowerBook sales top 1 million mark	President Bill Clinton sworn in ATF agents storm Branch Davidian compound	1993
1994	PowerMac 6100/60 eWorld service QuickTake camera		Mac celebrates 10th birthday Licenses Newton technology to Toshiba Introduces WiggleWorks, home learning software for children	Northridge earthquake strikes, killing more than 50 Grunge rocker Kurt Cobain commits suicide America Online hits 1 million subscribers	1994
1995	Quadra 610 (DOS compatible)		One-millionth PowerMac produced	Netscape browser released Oklahoma City federal building bombed	1995
1996		Gil Amelio named CEO	Fourth-quarter results in $25 million profit Acquires Jobs' Next Software	Atlanta hosts Centennial Olympic Games	1996
1997		Amelio out as CEO Jobs named interim CEO	Shutters Advanced Technology Group	First Harry Potter book published Pathfinder lands on Martian soil	1997
1998	iMac/233		Scraps Newton operating system	Unabomber sentenced to life DOJ, 20 states file Microsoft antitrust suit	1998
1999			Invests $100 million in Samsung Sues eMachines over iMac look-alike Sued over use of OS 9 name iBook tops notebook sales	"The Matrix" released Columbine High School shooting RIAA sues Napster for copyright infringement	1999
2000	PowerMac Cube	Jobs becomes permanent CEO Chief sales exec Mitch Mandich steps down	Licenses Amazon.com's 1-Click	Richard Hatch wins first season of "Survivor" U.S. Supreme Court rules manual election recounts unconstitutional	2000
2001	iPod OS X		Opens first retail store, in MacLean, Va. Settles with former worker who allegedly posted company secrets on Internet	President George W. Bush inaugurated Hijacked planes hit N.Y., Washington, D.C. Europe switches to euro	2001
2002	iMac G4	Former exec John Couch returns as vice president of education	Acquires FireWire company Zayante Buys music software company Emagic Retail stores go overseas Wins a second Emmy Award for technology Larry Ellison resigns from Apple board	Halle Berry, Denzel Washington make Oscar history Kelly Clarkson crowned first American Idol T-Mobile launches Sidekick Sniper attacks terrorize Washington, D.C., area	2002
2003			iTunes Music Store opens Tibco sues Apple over trademark Hits 25 million iTunes downloads	Space Shuttle Columbia disaster America invades Iraq Human Genome Project	2003
2004	iMac G5	Jobs undergoes successful surgery for pancreatic cancer	Kicks off ad campaign featuring U2 Launches iTunes Canada Sues over Tiger prerelease	Janet Jackson's Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction Indian Ocean tsunami	2004
2005	iPod Nano Video iPod	Raskin dies at 61	Scoops up SchemaSoft Aligns with Intel iTunes downloads top 500 million 1 million videos sold from iTunes, 19 days after video iPod launch	Martha Stewart released from prison Pope John Paul II dies Identity of Deep Throat revealed Hurricane Katrina hits Gulf Coast Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist dies	2005
2006	iMac Core Duo	Disney buys Pixar, putting Jobs on Disney's board Software development leader Avie Tevanian leaves	Offers March Madness on iTunes	RIM, NTP settle patent dispute	2006
	Product releases	People	Apple milestones	World events

Sources: "Apple Confidential," Mac-Net time line, Apple corporate time line and more

Apple celebrates 30 years

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	Product releases	People	Apple milestones	World events
1976	Apple I	Steven Paul Jobs, Stephen Gary Wozniak and Ronald Gerald Wayne found Apple Computer	Company is founded	U.S. celebrates bicentennial	1976
1977	Apple II	Michael M. Scott is first Apple president Armas Clifford "Mike" Markkula joins Apple	Apple logo designed by Rob Janoff	President Jimmy Carter inaugurated First "Star Wars" movie released Elvis dies	1977
1978	Disc II	Jef Raskin joins Apple	Company moves into new Cupertino headquarters	People's Temple mass suicide in Guyana	1978
1979	Apple II+		Introduces first printer, the Silentype Now employs 250 people working out of four buildings	Nuclear reactor accident at Three Mile Island Americans taken hostage in Iran	1979
1980	Apple III		Goes public with 4.6 million shares	U.S. hockey team upsets Soviets IBM personal computer announced John Lennon shot	1980
1981		Markkula becomes president, Jobs chairman	European headquarters open in Paris and Slough, England Wozniak's single-engine, six-seat plane crashes	President Ronald Reagan sworn in Reagan shot Prince Charles, Lady Diana Spencer wed	1981
1982		Raskin resigns	Takes legal action to stop cloning of Apple II Woz produces US Festival Hits $1 billion in annual sales	"E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" opens in theaters Permanent artificial heart implanted in human for first time	1982
1983	Lisa Apple IIe	John Sculley named president, CEO	Lisa and Mac divisions combined	Michael Jackson's "Thriller" tops album charts for the first of 37 weeks "M.A.S.H" goes off the air Sally Ride is first U.S. woman in space U.S. and Caribbean allies invade Grenada	1983
1984	Mac 128k Apple IIc	Andy Hertzfeld, one of the main authors of the Macintosh system software, leaves Apple	Landmark Super Bowl ad, by "Blade Runner" director Ridley Scott, introduces the Mac	William Gibson coins term "cyberspace" in his novel "Neuromancer" Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi assassinated Poison gas escapes Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India Bishop Desmond Tutu wins Nobel Peace Prize	1984
1985		Sculley reduces Jobs' role Woz resigns Jobs resigns, forms Next Software	Windows 1.01 released President Reagan present Jobs and Wozniak with National Technology Medal	Mikhail Gorbachev named new Soviet leader	1985
1986	Mac Plus	Jobs establishes Pixar, buying Lucasfilm's computer graphics group for $10 million	Apple Programmers and Developers Association (APDA) formed	Space Shuttle Challenger explodes Fox television network premieres	1986
1987	Mac II Mac SE			Iran-Contra hearings begin Black Monday; DJIA falls	1987
1988		Jean-Louis Gassee named president of Apple Products	Acquires Network Innovations Sues Microsoft over GUI	Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland	1988
1989	Mac Portable		Acquires Coral Software Sued by the Beatles' Apple Corps over music Sued by Xerox over GUI	George Bush inaugurated Tiananmen Square crackdown Loma Prieta earthquake hits San Francisco Bay Area Fall of Berlin Wall	1989
1990	Mac LC	Jean-Louis Gassee resigns, co-founds Be	Lists on Tokyo Stock Exchange	Apartheid dismantled in South Africa Antonia Novello sworn in as first Hispanic/female U.S. surgeon general	1990
1991	PowerBook 100		Chooses Fountain, Colo., as site for new manufacturing plant Announces 10 international language versions of System 7	First Gulf War starts	1991
1992			Number of customers using System 7 reaches 4 million Reaches first $2 billion-revenue quarter	Rodney King verdict sparks L.A. riots Johnny Carson retires from "Tonight Show"	1992
1993	Newton MessagePad	Michael Spindler named CEO, Sculley chairman Sculley resigns	PowerBook sales top 1 million mark	President Bill Clinton sworn in ATF agents storm Branch Davidian compound	1993
1994	PowerMac 6100/60 eWorld service QuickTake camera		Mac celebrates 10th birthday Licenses Newton technology to Toshiba Introduces WiggleWorks, home learning software for children	Northridge earthquake strikes, killing more than 50 Grunge rocker Kurt Cobain commits suicide America Online hits 1 million subscribers	1994
1995	Quadra 610 (DOS compatible)		One-millionth PowerMac produced	Netscape browser released Oklahoma City federal building bombed	1995
1996		Gil Amelio named CEO	Fourth-quarter results in $25 million profit Acquires Jobs' Next Software	Atlanta hosts Centennial Olympic Games	1996
1997		Amelio out as CEO Jobs named interim CEO	Shutters Advanced Technology Group	First Harry Potter book published Pathfinder lands on Martian soil	1997
1998	iMac/233		Scraps Newton operating system	Unabomber sentenced to life DOJ, 20 states file Microsoft antitrust suit	1998
1999			Invests $100 million in Samsung Sues eMachines over iMac look-alike Sued over use of OS 9 name iBook tops notebook sales	"The Matrix" released Columbine High School shooting RIAA sues Napster for copyright infringement	1999
2000	PowerMac Cube	Jobs becomes permanent CEO Chief sales exec Mitch Mandich steps down	Licenses Amazon.com's 1-Click	Richard Hatch wins first season of "Survivor" U.S. Supreme Court rules manual election recounts unconstitutional	2000
2001	iPod OS X		Opens first retail store, in MacLean, Va. Settles with former worker who allegedly posted company secrets on Internet	President George W. Bush inaugurated Hijacked planes hit N.Y., Washington, D.C. Europe switches to euro	2001
2002	iMac G4	Former exec John Couch returns as vice president of education	Acquires FireWire company Zayante Buys music software company Emagic Retail stores go overseas Wins a second Emmy Award for technology Larry Ellison resigns from Apple board	Halle Berry, Denzel Washington make Oscar history Kelly Clarkson crowned first American Idol T-Mobile launches Sidekick Sniper attacks terrorize Washington, D.C., area	2002
2003			iTunes Music Store opens Tibco sues Apple over trademark Hits 25 million iTunes downloads	Space Shuttle Columbia disaster America invades Iraq Human Genome Project	2003
2004	iMac G5	Jobs undergoes successful surgery for pancreatic cancer	Kicks off ad campaign featuring U2 Launches iTunes Canada Sues over Tiger prerelease	Janet Jackson's Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction Indian Ocean tsunami	2004
2005	iPod Nano Video iPod	Raskin dies at 61	Scoops up SchemaSoft Aligns with Intel iTunes downloads top 500 million 1 million videos sold from iTunes, 19 days after video iPod launch	Martha Stewart released from prison Pope John Paul II dies Identity of Deep Throat revealed Hurricane Katrina hits Gulf Coast Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist dies	2005
2006	iMac Core Duo	Disney buys Pixar, putting Jobs on Disney's board Software development leader Avie Tevanian leaves	Offers March Madness on iTunes	RIM, NTP settle patent dispute	2006
	Product releases	People	Apple milestones	World events

Sources: "Apple Confidential," Mac-Net time line, Apple corporate time line and more