When was the first computer invented ? It sounds like it should be a simple question to answer, right?
It’s not so straightforward; you’ll get different answers depending on who you ask. Keep reading to find out more.
Defining a "Computer"
The question of who invented the first computer is greatly influenced by how you define the word.
There’s some disagreement, even among dictionary publishers. Here’s how the UK’s Oxford English Dictionary defines it:
“An electronic device for storing and processing data, typically in binary form, according to instructions given to it in a variable program.”
And here’s how Merriam-Webster defines “computer” in the U.S.:
“A programmable usually electronic device that can store, retrieve, and process data.”
The critical difference is Merriam-Webster’s ambiguity over whether a computer needs to be electronic to meet the criteria. Most experts agree that computers can be sub-divided into analog computers and digital computers. Analog computers do not necessarily need an electrical supply.
The most commonly-cited name when considering who invented the first computer is Charles Babbage.
Babbage (1791-1871) was a British Polymath. He specialized in several fields, including mathematics and mechanical engineering.
His two most notable machines were the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine. The Difference Engine (started in 1822) could compute values of polynomial functions to aid navigation; the more complex Analytical Engine (proposed in 1837) was the first computer that could be considered “Turing complete”.
The Analytical Engine had many of the same traits as a modern computer, included a precursor to a CPU (which Babbage called the “Mill”) and memory (called the “Store”).
Babbage never had enough funding to build the Analytical Engine. In 1991, the London Science Museum finally built a complete and working model of the machine using techniques that were available in Babbage’s time.
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