Richard Feynman first proposed the idea of quantum computing in 1981. He presented the concept at the first Conference on the Physics of Computation at MIT, arguing that quantum systems could not be efficiently simulated by ordinary classical computers.
Feynman’s talk became a landmark in the field because it framed quantum mechanics itself as the natural foundation for simulating nature. His argument was not yet a blueprint for a practical modern quantum computer, but it established why such machines might be fundamentally more powerful for certain problems.
A common mix-up concerns the publication date. Feynman’s influential paper, “Simulating Physics with Computers,” appeared in 1982, although the paper was submitted in 1981 and the central proposal was presented that year. Another early pioneer, Paul Benioff, had described quantum-mechanical models of computation by 1980, but Feynman’s 1981 proposal is the standard answer when asking when he first proposed quantum computing.