Computing Atlas

How Computing Was Built
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Pioneer

Charles Babbage

Also Known As Father of the Computer
Computer Systems Organization

Charles Babbage was an English polymath, a mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, who originated the concept of a digital programmable computer a century before electronics made one practical. His difference engine mechanized arithmetic; his unbuilt analytical engine, described from 1837, contained in mechanical form the essential ideas of the modern computer, and Ada Lovelace's published notes on it are the reason the two names open this atlas's story. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Birth Year
1791 1
Birth Date
1791-12-26 1
Death Year
1871 1
Death Date
1871-10-18 1
Nationality
British 1
Connections

In Field

Computer Architecture, Fields

Influenced

Scheutzian calculation engine, Systems

The Scheutzian calculation engine was built on Babbage's published difference-engine principle, proving it workable before Babbage completed his own full-scale engine.

Invented

Analytical Engine, Systems
Source Wikipedia: Analytical Engine
Difference engine, Systems

Charles Babbage designed the difference engine and announced it to the Royal Astronomical Society on 14 June 1822.

In the Other Atlases
  • Also in Geography Atlas: United Kingdom, nationality there.
  • Also in Technology and Engineering Atlas: The Jacquard Loom, was influenced by this subject there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Charles Babbage
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Introduction
    A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.
  • Opening paragraph
    was an English polymath
  • lead sentence, parenthetical birth date
    26 December 1791
  • lead sentence, parenthetical death date
    18 October 1871) was an English polymath
  • second paragraph, first sentence
    Babbage is considered by some to merit the title of "father of the computer"
View the Source
Wikipedia: Analytical Engine
Wikimedia FoundationInvented: Analytical Engine, Opening section
Quote, Invented: Analytical Engine, Opening section
The analytical engine was a proposed digital mechanical general-purpose computer designed by the English mathematician and computer pioneer Charles Babbage.
View the Source
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