- 1925: He moved from Treorchy to Portsmouth.
- 1939: He went to school at Brockenhurst. He went on to study at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London.
- 1943: He graduated with a 1st class Honours BSc in Physics.
- 1947: He gained a first class honours degree in Mathematics.
- Whilst working at the National Physics Laboratory, he won a grant to construct and use the experimental ACE electronic computer.
- 1954: He studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA, and he visited India on behalf of the United Nations.
- 1955: He returned to the National Physics Laboratory to design and build very fast computers.
- 1960s: He worked on developing a network of computers that transmitted information rapidly in a series of short messages.
- 1963: He published 'Digital Techniques' with Derek Barber.
- 1975: He was elected a Distinguished Fellow of The British Computer Society.
- 1984: He retired from the Scientific Civil Service.
- 1985: He received the John von Neumann Award, Budapest.
‘Donald Davies’s crucial breakthrough of packet switching, which enables the efficient exchange of information between computers, makes modern computer communications both functional and robust.’ – ‘Donald Watts Davies’, National Inventors’ Hall of Fame – https://www.invent.org/inductees/donald-watts-davies