In part one we asked if the compact disc was dead. Here we offer a timeline of the Compact Disc's history — and prehistory — from 180 years ago to the present.

The 1800s

The Big Bang? Beethoven! In a way, it all begins with his Symphony No. 9 (see 1979).

French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy proposes a sampling theorem that converts a signal into a numerical sequence.

Thomas Edison invents the wax-cylinder phonograph. Finally, a use for album-cover art.

1948 to 1979