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Charles Babbage

(1791-1871)

Synopsis

Charles Babbage was an English mathematician, philosopher and inventor born on December 26, 1791, in London, England. Often called “The Father of Computing,” Babbage detailed plans for mechanical Calculating Engines, Difference Engines, and Analytical Engines. Babbage died on October 18, 1871, in London.


  • Name: Charles Babbage
  • Birth Year: 1791
  • Birth date: December 26, 1791
  • Birth City: London
  • Birth Country: England
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Charles Babbage was known for his contributions to the first mechanical computers, which laid the groundwork for more complex future designs.
  • Industries
    • Technology and Engineering
    • Business and Industry
    • Education and Academia
    • Internet/Computing
  • Astrological Sign: Capricorn
  • Schools
    • Trinity College, Cambridge
    • Peterhouse, Cambridge
  • Death Year: 1871
  • Death date: October 18, 1871
  • Death City: London
  • Death Country: England

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  • Article Title: Charles Babbage Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/inventors/charles-babbage
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: October 26, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
  • Charles babbage born
  • Charles Babbage’s Difference Engines and the Science Museum

    Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine number 2 has attracted considerable interest since it was first displayed in the Science Museum in 1991. The museum completed the Engine in 2002 and later digitised the Babbage Archive, which has enabled further research by scholars worldwide. 

    Charles Babbage

    Charles Babbage (1791-1871) was an English mathematician, philosopher and polymath. A prolific inventor and political economist, he pioneered lighthouse signalling, designed a cow-catcher for the front end of railway locomotives, multi-coloured theatre lighting and ciphers. But Babbage is best known for his calculating machines, the Difference Engines and Analytical Engine, which are among the most celebrated icons in the prehistory of computing. Although never built in his lifetime, experimental pieces, engine plans and notebooks are some of the treasures of the Science Museum’s collection.  

    The Mathematical Table Crisis

    In the early nineteenth century mathematicians, navigators, engineers, surveyors and bankers relied on printed mathematical tables to perform calculations requiring more than a few figures of accuracy. The production of tables was not only tedious but prone to error by the human computers who compiled them. Mistakes were known to occur in transcription as well as calculation, typesetting and printing. While hard to quantify, Babbage cited that these errors had lost the government £2-3 million and caused ships to run aground.  

    Frustrated by numerous miscalculations within printed mathematical tables, Babbage declared in 1821 in a meeting with his friend John Herschel, “I wish to God these calculations had been executed by steam”. The task that seized Babbage and was to occupy him on and off for the rest of his life, was to design and build mechanical calculating engines to mechanise the production of tables.  

    Science Museum Group
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  • Charles Babbage

    English mathematician, philosopher, and engineer (1791–1871)

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

    Charles Babbage

    KH FRS

    Babbage in 1860

    Born(1791-12-26)26 December 1791

    London, England

    Died18 October 1871(1871-10-18) (aged 79)

    Marylebone, London, England

    Alma materPeterhouse, Cambridge
    Known forAnalytical engine
    Difference engine
    Spouse

    Georgiana Whitmore

    (m. 1814; died 1827)​
    Children8, including Benjamin Herschel Babbage and Henry Prevost Babbage
    RelativesWilliam Wolryche-Whitmore (brother-in-law)
    AwardsGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society(1824)
    Scientific career
    FieldsMathematics, engineering, political economy, computer science
    InstitutionsTrinity College, Cambridge, Peterhouse, Cambridge

    Charles BabbageKH FRS (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.

    Babbage is considered by some to be "father of the computer". He 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 his Analytical Engine, programmed using a principle openly borrowed from the Jacquard loom. Babbage had a broad range of interests in addition to his work on computers covered in his 1832 book Economy of Manufactures and Machinery. He was an important figure in the social scene in London, and is credited with importing the "scientific soirée" from France with his well-attended Saturday evening soirées. His varied work in oth

  • What is charles babbage best known for?
  • Biography of Charles Babbage, Mathematician and Computer Pioneer

    Charles Babbage (December 26, 1791–October 18, 1871) was an English mathematician and inventor who is credited with having conceptualized the first digital programmable computer. Designed in 1821, Babbage’s “Difference Engine No. 1” was the first successful, error-free automatic calculating machine and is considered to be the inspiration for modern programmable computers. Often called the “Father of the Computer,” Babbage was also a prolific writer, with a wide number of interests including mathematics, engineering, economics, politics, and technology.

    Fast Facts: Charles Babbage

    • Known For: Originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.
    • Also Known As: The Father of Computing
    • Born: December 26, 1791 in London, England
    • Parents: Benjamin Babbage and Elizabeth Pumleigh Teape
    • Died: October 18, 1871 in London, England
    • Education: Cambridge University
    • Published Works:Passages from the Life of a Philosopher, Reflections on the Decline of Science in England
    • Awards and Honors: Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
    • Spouse: Georgiana Whitmore
    • Children: Dugald, Benjamin, and Henry
    • Notable Quote: “The errors which arise from the absence of facts are far more numerous and more durable than those which result from unsound reasoning respecting true data.”

    Early Life and Education

    Charles Babbage was born on December 26, 1791, in London, England, the eldest of four children born to London banker Benjamin Babbage and Elizabeth Pumleigh Teape. Only Charles and his sister Mary Ann survived early childhood. The Babbage family was fairly well-to-do, and as the only surviving son, Charles had private tutors and was sent to the best schools, including Exeter, Enfield, Totnes, and Oxford before finally entering Trinity College at Cambridge in 1810.

    At Trinity, Babbage read mathematics, and in 1812 he joined Peterhouse at Cambridge University, where he w