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Hmmm. That's only 11 months after the first microprocessor -- Ray and Bill Holt's Central Air Data Computer for the F-14 -- flew for the first time. (Dec 1970)

[https://www.wired.com/story/secret-history-of-the-first-micr...]

The 4004 might have been first if Intel hadn't been sidetracked to consider a CPU chip for Datapoint. Then TI got involved.

[https://web.archive.org/web/20150512143915/http://thetrendyt...]




It’s not really a microprocessor if it needs several chips for the CPU. I’d agree with Ken Shirriff that it’s between TI and Intel.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-surprising-story-of-the-first-...


I’d argue that 1. It wasn’t a microprocessor, and 2. There is no point counting “secret hardware”, same way we don’t include never released prototypes.




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