Babbage" redirects here. For other uses, see Babbage (disambiguation).

Charles Babbage

KH FRS

Babbage in 1860

Born 26 December 1791

London, England

Died 18 October 1871 (aged 79)

Marylebone, London, England

Alma mater Peterhouse, Cambridge

Known for Analytical engine

Difference engine

Georgiana Whitmore
Spouse

(m. 1814; died 1827)

Children 8, including Benjamin Herschel Babbage

 Relatives William Wolryche-Whitmore (brother-in-law)

Awards Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical

Society (1824)

Scientific career

Fields Mathematics, engineering, political economy,

computer science

Institutions Trinity College, Cambridge, Peterhouse,

Cambridge

Signature

Charles Babbage KH FRS (/ˈbæbɪdʒ/; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an

English polymath.[1] A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage
originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.[2]
Babbage is considered by some to be "father of the computer".[2][3][4][5] Babbage is credited with
inventing the first mechanical computer, the Difference Engine, that eventually led to more
complex electronic designs, though all the essential ideas of modern computers are to be found
in Babbage's Analytical Engine, programmed using a principle openly borrowed from
the Jacquard loom.[2][6] Babbage had a broad range of interests in addition to his work on
computers covered in his 1832 book Economy of Manufactures and Machinery.[7] His varied work
in other fields has led him to be described as "pre-eminent" among the many polymaths of his
century.[1]
Babbage, who died before the complete successful engineering of many of his designs, including
his Difference Engine and Analytical Engine, remained a prominent figure in the ideating of
computing. Parts of Babbage's incomplete mechanisms are on display in the Science Museum in
London. In 1991, a functioning difference engine was constructed from Babbage's original plans.
Built to tolerances achievable in the 19th century, the success of the finished engine indicated
that Babbage's machine would have worked.
Babbage" redirects here. For other uses, see Babbage (disambiguation).

Charles Babbage

KH FRS
 Babbage in 1860

Born 26 December 1791

London, England

Died 18 October 1871 (aged 79)

Marylebone, London, England

Alma mater Peterhouse, Cambridge

Known for Analytical engine

Difference engine

Georgiana Whitmore
Spouse

(m. 1814; died 1827)

Children 8, including Benjamin Herschel Babbage

Relatives William Wolryche-Whitmore (brother-in-law)

Awards Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical

Society (1824)

Scientific career
 Fields Mathematics, engineering, political economy,

computer science

Institutions Trinity College, Cambridge, Peterhouse,

Cambridge

Signature

Charles Babbage KH FRS (/ˈbæbɪdʒ/; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an

English polymath.[1] A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage
originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.[2]
Babbage is considered by some to be "father of the computer".[2][3][4][5] Babbage is credited with
inventing the first mechanical computer, the Difference Engine, that eventually led to more
complex electronic designs, though all the essential ideas of modern computers are to be found
in Babbage's Analytical Engine, programmed using a principle openly borrowed from
the Jacquard loom.[2][6] Babbage had a broad range of interests in addition to his work on
computers covered in his 1832 book Economy of Manufactures and Machinery.[7] His varied work
in other fields has led him to be described as "pre-eminent" among the many polymaths of his
century.[1]
Babbage, who died before the complete successful engineering of many of his designs, including
his Difference Engine and Analytical Engine, remained a prominent figure in the ideating of
computing. Parts of Babbage's incomplete mechanisms are on display in the Science Museum in
London. In 1991, a functioning difference engine was constructed from Babbage's original plans.
Built to tolerances achievable in the 19th century, the success of the finished engine indicated
that Babbage's machine would have worked.
Babbage" redirects here. For other uses, see Babbage (disambiguation).

Charles Babbage

KH FRS
 Babbage in 1860

Born 26 December 1791

London, England

Died 18 October 1871 (aged 79)

Marylebone, London, England

Alma mater Peterhouse, Cambridge

Known for Analytical engine

Difference engine

Georgiana Whitmore
Spouse

(m. 1814; died 1827)

Children 8, including Benjamin Herschel Babbage

Relatives William Wolryche-Whitmore (brother-in-law)

Awards Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical

Society (1824)

Scientific career
 Fields Mathematics, engineering, political economy,

computer science

Institutions Trinity College, Cambridge, Peterhouse,

Cambridge

Signature

Charles Babbage KH FRS (/ˈbæbɪdʒ/; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an

English polymath.[1] A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage
originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.[2]
Babbage is considered by some to be "father of the computer".[2][3][4][5] Babbage is credited with
inventing the first mechanical computer, the Difference Engine, that eventually led to more
complex electronic designs, though all the essential ideas of modern computers are to be found
in Babbage's Analytical Engine, programmed using a principle openly borrowed from
the Jacquard loom.[2][6] Babbage had a broad range of interests in addition to his work on
computers covered in his 1832 book Economy of Manufactures and Machinery.[7] His varied work
in other fields has led him to be described as "pre-eminent" among the many polymaths of his
century.[1]
Babbage, who died before the complete successful engineering of many of his designs, including
his Difference Engine and Analytical Engine, remained a prominent figure in the ideating of
computing. Parts of Babbage's incomplete mechanisms are on display in the Science Museum in
London. In 1991, a functioning difference engine was constructed from Babbage's original plans.
Built to tolerances achievable in the 19th century, the success of the finished engine indicated
that Babbage's machine would have worked.