Charles Babbage: The Father of Computers

Charles Babbage was a British mathematician and scientist. He designed

and developed a mechanical calculator capable of calculating tables of
numerical functions by the method of differences. He also designed,
(but never built), analytics to run tabulation or computing programs; For
these inventions he is considered one of the first people to conceive the
idea of what we would call a computer today, which is why he is
considered "The Father of Computers." Babbage was baptized on
January 6, 1792, in October 1810 Babbage arrived at Trinity College
(Cambridge), having trained himself in contemporary mathematics.

He attempted to find a method by which calculations could be made automatically by a machine.

He had this idea in 1812. Three factors seemed to have motivated him: an aversion to disorder,
his knowledge of logarithmic tables, and the work on calculating machines carried out by Blaise
Pascal and Gottfried Leibniz.

In 1822, in a letter to Sir Humphry Davy on the application of machinery to the calculation and
printing of mathematical tables, he discussed the principles of a calculating machine. He also
designed a computer blueprint. Between 1833 and 1842 he tried to build a machine that was
programmable to do any type of calculation, not just those referring to the calculation of
logarithmic tables or polynomial functions. This was the analitic machine. The design was based
on the Joseph Marie Jacquard loom, which used punch cards to make designs on the fabric. He
is also considered the father of modern printers.

More than 150 years later, his plans and meticulous work by the Science Museum in London
resulted in the construction of the Difference Engine. He died on October 18, 1871 in
Marylebone (United Kingdom) due to kidney failure.