Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar

Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar (1785 to 1870) was a French inventor and entrepreneur, born Charles Xavier Thomas in Colmar, best known for designing, patenting and manufacturing the first commercially successful mechanical calculator, the Arithmometer. He conceived the idea while serving as Inspector of Supply for the whole French army, when he needed a tool for the extensive calculations of his duties. The first model appeared in 1820 and he was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1821, but he spent his energy on his insurance companies, so the machine reached the market only in 1852. By his death in 1870 his workshop had built about 1,000 Arithmometers, the first mass produced mechanical calculator in the world, which stayed in production until about 1914.