What Happened on April 11th

German computer pioneer Konrad Zuse files for a patent for the automatic execution of calculations, a process he invents while working on what would become the Z-1, Germany's first computer. In the patent application, Zuse offers the first discussion of programmable memory, using the term "combination memory" to describe breaking programs down into bit combinations for storage. This is the first device to calculate in binary with translation to decimal. Zuse goes on to build a series of computers.