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How Computing Was Built
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Pioneer

Leonardo Torres Quevedo

Also Known As Leonardo Torres y Quevedo · Torres Quevedo, Leonardo
Computing Methodologies

Leonardo Torres Quevedo was a Spanish civil engineer, mathematician, and inventor who developed numerous engineering innovations related to aerial trams, airships, catamarans, and remote control, and who was also a pioneer in the fields of computing and robotics. In the 1890s he focused his efforts on analog computation; from his Laboratory of Automatics established in Madrid in 1907 he built El Ajedrecista in 1912, an electromagnetic device capable of playing a chess endgame, and he designed a special-purpose electromechanical calculator that conceptually foreshadowed floating-point arithmetic. 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
1852 1
Birth Date
1852-12-28 1
Death Year
1936 1
Death Date
1936-12-18 1
Award
Commander of the Legion of Honour 2
Award
doctor honoris causa from the University of Paris 2
Award
Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III 2
Award
Grand cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso XII 2
Award
Echegaray Medal 2
Award
Band of the Order of the Republic 2
FAQs

Did Leonardo Torres Quevedo build anything well known outside computing?

He patented a passenger cableway in 1887 that led to the Whirlpool Aero Car at Niagara Falls in 1916.

Yes. His first innovative design was a cableway system for the safe transport of passengers, patented in 1887. It led to the Mount Ulia aerial ropeway in 1907 and culminated in 1916 with the opening of the Whirlpool Aero Car at Niagara Falls.
Connections

In Field

Robotics, Fields
Source Wikipedia: Leonardo Torres Quevedo
In the Other Atlases

Nationality

Spain

Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Leonardo Torres Quevedo
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    Leonardo Torres Quevedo (Spanish: [leoˈnaɾðo ˈtores keˈβeðo]; 28 December 1852 - 18 December 1936) was a Spanish civil engineer, mathematician, and inventor who developed numerous engineering innovations related to aerial trams, airships, catamarans, and remote control.
  • Infobox, Born
    28 December 1852
  • Infobox, Died
    18 December 1936
  • In Field: Robotics, Lead
    He was also a pioneer in the fields of computing and robotics, while maintaining an active role in several scientific and cultural institutions.
View the Source
2. Wikidata: Leonardo Torres Quevedo
Wikidata Q716862, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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