35th Anniversary of the Intel® 4004 Microprocessor

The Computer History Museum and the Intel Museum invite you to mark the 35th anniversary of one of the most important products in technology history. Introduced in November 1971, the Intel® 4004 microprocessor was an early and significant commercial product to embody computer architecture within a silicon device. And it started an electronics revolution that changed our world.

There were no customer-programmable microprocessors on the market before the 4004. It was the first and it was the enabling technology that propelled software into the limelight as a key player in the world of digital electronics design. Intel, which had been making memory chips, used the 4004 as a technical and marketing launch pad to develop an expertise in microprocessors that, in quick time, made it a market leader.

This strategy allowed it to emerge as the most influential designer and producer of microprocessors—the engine of the information age—for over three decades.

In celebration of this milestone anniversary and the November 15, 2006 opening of Intel Museum’s new exhibit entitled, “The Intel 4004 Microprocessor ,” Intel 4004 designers Ted Hoff and Federico Faggin take center stage with an historical perspective on the evolution of the 4004, from a special-order from Japanese calculator manufacturer Busicom, to a mass-produced device.

Additionally, Tim McNerney, who assembled and led a talented team of engineers and designers to create the Intel 4004 35th anniversary exhibit with the Intel Museum and the Intel Corporate Archives, will be invited to speak at the conclusion of the panel. He will address the process of reverse-engineering of the Intel 4004 schematics and the Busicom141-PF calculator ROMs that led his team to uncover elegantly crafted layers of a computational system that makes optimal use of hardware and software. This special anniversary program will be moderated by industry veteran and Intel alum, Dave House.

More information on the 4004 can be found at
http://www.intel.com/museum/archives/4004.htm