Charles Babbage

English inventor Charles Babbage completed principles of general use of digital computers full century before the development of large-scale electronic calculating machines happen. The designs engines, which gave the name "analytical engine" in principle able to perform what could be a modern calculator (although not as fast, because the "engine analyst" was not designed for electric-powered).
Unfortunately, since the technology of the 19th century had not yet advanced enough, Babbage was not able to complete the construction of "machine analyst" is, but it can not require huge time and cost. After his death, his ideas are so brilliant was almost forgotten.

In 1937, Babbage's writings to the attention of Howard H. Aiken, Harvard graduate degree. Aiken is also trying to complete the design of machines, moved a lot by Babbage's ideas. In cooperation with IBM, Aiken able to make the Mark I, the first computer for all purposes. In 1946, two years after the Mark I operated, the engineers and other inventors completed ENIAC, first electronic calculating machine. Since then, advances in computer technology developed with the rush.

Because the calculator has so much influence in the world, will become even more important in the days ahead, I intend to include Charles Babbage in the list of main sequence of this book. However, after consideration of all angles, I concluded that Babbage's contribution to the development of thinking computers are not greater than Aiken or than John Mauchly and JO Eckert (which is the central figure in the design of ENIAC). On that basis at least three predecessors Babbage (Blaise Pascal, Gottfried Leibniz, and Joseph Marie Jacquard) has made contributions equivalent to Babbage. Pascal, a mathematician, philosopher and French scientists discovered the sum of mechanical machines even in 1642. In the year 1671 Gottfired Wilhelm von Leibniz, a philosopher and mathematician who designed the machine can add, subtract, multiply and divide. Leibniz was also the first to demonstrate the importance of "binary systems," which is the sum of the system with two "digits" that in this modern era is widely used in computers. And other French people, Jacquard, who in the early 19th century have been using computer systems to monitor the charging loom. Jacquard loom heavy selling commercially, has a major influence on Babbage thought. May be influenced also Herman Hollerith, an American who in the late 19th century, using a computer charging system to make columns of data in the Census Bureau. Michael H. Hart,One hundred most influential figures in the history.