Peripheral

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
<p>One of the earliest known computer peripherals to be made was the <a href="/facts/Punched_card/44WsPulQ">punched card,</a> which was first introduced into computing in the late 1880s by <a href="/facts/Herman_Hollerith/rxpnvpgz">Herman Hollerith</a>, an American engineer.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a>  As a result, the punched card <a href="/facts/Tabulating_machine/ppepdpHw">tabulator</a> was invented, which was able to read the punch cards.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> In addition, it was the first computer peripheral to be mass-produced.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
</p><p>The introduction of the punched card also led to the creation of the Hollerith Type 001 Mechanical Card Punch, would would become the basis of computer keyboards. The <a href="/facts/Keypunch/vbtX99wD">keypunch</a> allowed operators to punch the digits 0-9, without the user having prior knowledge of the corresponding card codes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
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<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>

Look up <i>peripheral</i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

<ul><li><a href="/facts/Display_device/yX1Mypk0">Display device</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Expansion_card/QkWAPnxJ">Expansion card</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Punched_card_input%2foutput/fP8jcPsT">Punched card input/output</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Punched_tape/8HI7dThI">Punched tape</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Video_game_accessory/uo4vLtsz">Video game accessory</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/input-output-device">Peripheral</a> – <i><a href="/facts/Encyclop%25C3%25A6dia_Britannica/CEyVsjlN">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Laplante, Philip A. (2000). Dictionary of Computer Science, Engineering and Technology. CRC Press. p. 366. ISBN 0-8493-2691-5. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2018. <a href="0-8493-2691-5" target="_blank">0-8493-2691-5</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>"The punched card | IBM". www.ibm.com. Retrieved 2025-07-05. <a href="https://www.ibm.com/history/punched-card" target="_blank">https://www.ibm.com/history/punched-card</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>"The punched card tabulator | IBM". www.ibm.com. Retrieved 2025-07-05. <a href="https://www.ibm.com/history/punched-card-tabulator" target="_blank">https://www.ibm.com/history/punched-card-tabulator</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>"The punched card | IBM". www.ibm.com. Retrieved 2025-07-05. <a href="https://www.ibm.com/history/punched-card" target="_blank">https://www.ibm.com/history/punched-card</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>"Type 001 Mechanical Card Punch". www.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-05. <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/001.html" target="_blank">https://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/001.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Peripheral open-in-new

Peripheral