First monolithic integrated circuit (microchip)

Jack Kilby (US), together with Robert Noyce (US) discovered that large numbers of transistors and their connections could be etched onto a piece of silicon. Kilby went on to conceive and patent the microchip in 1958, less than a year of joining as a researcher with Texas Instruments. Kilby continued refining his invention, producing the world's first pocket calculator, the 'Poketronic'. Without Kilby's invention, no personal computer, fax machine, cellular phone, satellite television or any mass communication system would exist.