1958: Leaves school. Editor of Practical Wireless.

1961: Formed Sinclair Radionics.

1962: Microamplifier - smaller than a half crown. Joins MENSA.

1964: Sinclair logo appears for the first time.

1966: Microvision TV (£99.95). Chris Curry joins.

1968: System 2000 complete hi-fi system

1972: First calculator - Sinclair Executive (£79.95).

1973: Cambridge calculator (£29.95). Nigel Searle joins.

1974: Scientific calculator (£29.95).

1976: First problems. Black Watch launched. Company loses £335,000. NEB buys a 43% stake for £650,000.

1977: Collapse of calculator market. NEB injects further £1.9m. Black Watch scrapped.

1978: £2m loss. First microcomputer designed and sold to Newbury Labs. Emerges two years later as the New Brain.

1979: Sinclair splits from NEB. Sets up Science of Cambridge with Chris Curry. Curry splits off and sets up Acorn. Sinclair sets up Sinclair Research.

1980: ZX80 (£99.95)

1981: ZX81 (£69.95)

1982: Spectrum launched 16K (£125) 48K (£175). 300,000 ZX81s sold. Turn-over up to £30m.

1983: Spectrums sell at 12,000 a week. Microdrives (£49.95). Sinclair is Guardian Young Businessman and is knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours. Flat Screen TV (£79.95).

1984: QL (£399). Turn-over up to £77m. Flotation of 10% values Sinclair Research at £134m. Spectrum Plus (£179).

1985: C5 launched by Sinclair Vehicles. Cash crisis at Sinclair Research. Maxwell steps in, and out. £10m raised by sale of Spectrum to Dixons.

1986: Spectrum 128 (£179). Amstrad takes over computer business. Sinclair moves on.

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