Englishman Charles Babbage (1791–1871), an eccentric, ingenious mathematician, decided that existing tables of computations included far too many errors: the day's textbooks came with errata sheets ...

IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more. This is a replica of the portion of a ...

Yesterday marked the anniversary of the 1871 death of Charles Babbage, the English mathematician and inventor credited with conceiving plans for the world's first programmable non-digital computer. It ...

Frustrated by human error, mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage designed a machine to perform mathematical functions and automatically print the results. Library of Congress When today’s number ...

AT a meeting of the Newcomen Society held at the Science Museum on December 13, Dr. L. H. D. Buxton read a paper on Charles Babbage and his difference engine, during which he gave a sketch of the ...

As you might expect from its name, the "Difference Engine" is a strangely difficult object to describe. You might start by imagining the side of a large crib with uprights ringed by small metal wheels ...

"The machine works exactly as Babbage intended. There's not a single logical design flaw in the entire design," says its builder Doron Swade. And 248 gears of iron, brass and steel. The first digital ...