The first digital computer was envisioned by Charles Babbage in 1837. It would be about a century later before a working digital computer would be created.


Charles Babbage was born in London, England in 1791 and suffered from several illnesses during his childhood. As well, his adult family life was stricken with tragedy several times as he watched two sons, his wife, and his father pass away in a single year in 1827. Prior to that, three of Babbage’s other children had died prematurely.

Babbage had a strong interest in philosophy and mathematics and developed plans for what he called the “Difference Engine.” Made of brass and powered by steam, the plans were motivated by his ideas of reducing human error in computing. However, the machine was never built. Today, some still marvel at Babbage’s ingenuity and suggest that if the machine were to have been built, it would have been the first programmable “computer.”

You can read more here and try out a Java emulator of Babbage’s machine.

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