Edgar F. Codd publishes 'A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks'

Codd's seminal paper outlined the theoretical foundation for relational databases, proposing a mathematically rigorous and flexible way to organize and query data using tables.

Significance

This paper provided the intellectual blueprint that Oracle's founders would later commercialize, laying the groundwork for all modern relational databases.

Key facts

Date
1970-06-01
Type
invention
Location
San Jose, California (IBM Research Laboratory)