Final answer:
FORTRAN was the first widely used programming language, developed in the 1950s and pivotal for scientific and engineering computations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first widely used programming language was FORTRAN (Formula Translation). Developed in the 1950s by IBM, FORTRAN was designed to allow easy translation of math formulas into code, which was a major advancement for its time. It revolutionized the way computers were used in scientific and engineering applications due to its efficiency and ability to perform complex mathematical computations. The language is still in use today, though it has been significantly updated and modernized over the decades.