On January 23, 1996, Sun Microsystems released Java Development Kit 1.0, introducing the 'Write Once, Run Anywhere' principle — programs compiled to bytecode ran on any machine with a JVM, a breakthrough that now powers Android apps, banking systems, and even Mars rovers.
In February 1996, IBM's Deep Blue played six games against world chess champion Garry Kasparov — and won the first, a historic shock that showed machines could compete at the highest level of human intelligence, even as Kasparov ultimately won the match 4–2.
In February 1996, Garry Kasparov faced IBM's Deep Blue in the first serious chess match between a world champion and a computer — Deep Blue won the opening game in a historic shock, and though Kasparov recovered to win the match 4–2, the gap between human and machine had closed for good.
