Interactive Timeline

National Semiconductor is celebrating 50 years of industry leadership and launching its sixth decade focused on energy. National’s story is one intricately woven into the history of the high-tech industry. When the company was founded, computers were the size of buildings, telephones were wired to walls, televisions were boxes filled with tubes and humans had not yet left the earth’s atmosphere. National’s many technological innovations have shaped the industry and left their mark on the world.

National was founded in 1959, the same year the integrated circuit (IC) was created. In 1966, National moved the company’s headquarters to a large plot of land in Santa Clara, California, that was to become known as “Silicon Valley.” Known for its world-class manufacturing and logistics, product reliability, and innovative technology, National has had many notable “industry firsts” in the last 50 years. Read about some of these milestones in the interactive timeline below (or see text version).