In the 18th century, hackers had nothing to do with computers
We’re all wondering how hackers could have been anything other than what they are today. Now, hackers are people with skills in informatics who use their technical knowledge to get what they want, whether data or an action from a specific person, government or company, by breaking into a computerized system. But in 1800, hackers had nothing to do with computers.
“Hack” is deeply related to technology for most of us. Yet this word actually derives from a verb from the 13tg century, which meant “to cut with heavy blows in an irregular or random fashion.” It makes sense then that until the 1950s, “hackers” were men that chopped down trees.