charles babbage

English - English

Definition of charles babbage in English English dictionary: a British mathematician who designed a type of calculating machine which modern computers are based on (1792-1871). born Dec. 26, 1791, London, Eng. died Oct. 18, 1871, London British mathematician and inventor. Educated at Cambridge University, he devoted himself from about 1812 to devising machines capable of calculating mathematical tables. His first small calculator could perform certain computations to eight decimals. In 1823 he obtained government support for the design of a projected machine with a 20-decimal capacity. In the 1830s he developed plans for the so-called Analytical Engine, capable of performing any arithmetical operation on the basis of instructions from punched cards, a memory unit in which to store numbers, sequential control, and most of the other basic elements of the present-day computer. The forerunner of the modern digital computer, the Analytical Engine was never completed. In 1991 British scientists built Difference Engine No. 2 (accurate to 31 digits) to Babbage's specifications. His other contributions included establishing the modern postal system in England, compiling the first reliable actuarial tables, and inventing the locomotive cowcatcher; {i} (1792-1871) British mathematician and "the father of computing", inventor of a mathematical computing machine which was the forerunner of modern computers

charles babbage