Charles Babbage

Charles Babbage was an English mathematician,

philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer.
He was born on December 26th 1791 in London,
England. He had 8 children, 7 sons, Benjamin
Herschel Babbage (1815-1878), Charles Whitmore
Babbage (1817-1827), Georgiana Whitmore
Babbage, Edward Stewart Babbage (1819-1821),
Francis Moore Babbage (1821-??), Dugald
Bromhead Babbage (1823-1901), (Maj-Gen) Henry
Prevost Babbage (18241918), Alexander Forbes
Babbage (18271827).
His Youth

As a young child, Babbage taught himself algebra without the help of instructors and it
was during this time that Babbage realised his passion for math and the continental math
of his day. .
When attending Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1811, Babbage found that he was far more
advanced in Math than his teachers and it was this that caused him to co-found the
Analytical Society for promoting continental mathematics. After reforming the math at
Newtons, he then went on to teach at the college.
 Babbage was mathematician specialising in calculus in his twenties. In 1816, he was
elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and played a very prominent part in the founding of
the Astronomical Society in 1820. It was during this period of time that Charles Babbage
became fond of machinery. It was this fondness that became the all-consuming passion
for the rest of his life.
His Creation

In 1821, Babbage created the Different Engine to compile mathematics

table. After completing it, he came up with the idea to create a machine
that could compile not just one type of mathematics but all type of
mathematics. This idea became the Analytical Engine in 1856.
Unfortunately, Babbage's computer required critical technology that just
weren't available at the time. However, even though Babbage's work was
formally recognised by many respected scientific organisations, the English
government suspended funding for the Analytical Engine and after an
agonising ten-year wait, the project was ended in 1842.
In Babbage's times there was a really
high error rate in the calculation of
math tables, when Babbage planned
to find a new method that could be
used to make it mechanical, removing
the human error factor. This idea started
to tickle his brain very early, in 1812.
A Swedish printer, George Scheutz
completed a successful model of
Babbage's Analytical Engine that
accurately printed mathematical,
astronomical and actuarial tables
which was used by the British and
American Government.
 Babbage began to think about an improved calculating engine. Between 1833 and 1842
he tried to build a machine that would be programmed to do any kind of calculation.
In 1824, he won the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society for his invention of an
engine for calculating mathematical and astronomical tables.
Throughout his life, Charles Babbage participated in many intellectual fields and achieves
many great things such as occupied the Lucasian chair of mathematics at Cambridge
from 1828 to 1839. He also played a vital role in the Association for the Advancement of
Science and Statistical Society.
His Life

However, despite his achievements, Charles Babbage was left a bitter,

disappointed and resentful man mainly because of his failure to create his
machines and the failure in the government to support his work.
He died in his home on October 18th 1871.