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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Introduction -- Carrying tens : Pascal, Morland, and the challenge of machine calculation -- First carry ; Babbage and Clement mechanize table making -- Artisans and their philosophers : Leibniz and ...