Creating the First Computer
Babbage’s Difference Engine and the mechanical pre-history of computing.
Charles Babbage (1791-1871) was dubbed the ‘irascible genius’ in 1964 by his first biographer. The designs for his vast mechanical calculating machines rank as one of the startling intellectual achievements of the 19th century and his name has become synonymous with the mechanical pre-history of computing. Yet Babbage failed to complete any of his engines in physical form and his practical failures are celebrated at least as noisily as his inventive genius.
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