A numerical table is a tool designed to save the time and labor of those engaged in computing work. The oldest tables which are preserved, were compiled in Babylon in the period 1800-1500 B.C. They ...

Charles Babbage is widely recognized for inventing the first mechanical computer, the Difference Engine, in 1821. However, he never managed to build any of his many designs. Pehr-Georg Scheutz, a ...

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 ...

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 ...

A rare liveaction and closeup study of the only existing Babbage Difference Engine a machine designed in the first quarter of the 19thCentury by English inventor and mathematician Charles Babbage The ...

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 ...