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The first man to think of computer
Charles Babbage (1792–1871), a professor of mathematics at Cambridge University in England, was the first man to think of building an automatic digital computer; despite long years of effort, however, Babbage did not construct his “difference engine,” because of the age’s rudimentary technology.
“Computers.” American History Online, edited by Karen Ellicott and Timothy L. Gall, Lincoln Library Press, 2012. FactCite, https://www.factcite.com/useh/4000662.html. Accessed 28 May. 2025. -
first man to think of the idea of a computer to solve differential equations
In 1879, the British scientist William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (1824–1907), is likely the first to conceive of an automatic analogue computer for solving differential equations; however, no such machine was built.
“Computers.” American History Online, edited by Karen Ellicott and Timothy L. Gall, Lincoln Library Press, 2012. FactCite, https://www.factcite.com/useh/4000662.html. Accessed 28 May. 2025. -
Herman Hollerith's 'Statistical Piano'
At last, in 1886, Herman Hollerith, an inventor and statistician working on the census of the United States, what Hollerith called his “statistical piano” once finished led to its use in the census, this time, Hollerith’s tabulating device is said to have saved the government $5 million and two years of work. This punch card principle later became the basis of accounting and statistical machines that found wide application in business and industry.
Source: Factcite
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The idea of solving differential equations is revived
In 1925, Dr. Vannevar Bush and associates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology revived the idea of a machine to solve differential equations. In 1930, they perfected the first operating general-purpose automatic analogue computer, called a differential analyzer; although it utilized an electric motor, all its parts were mechanical.
“Computers.” American History Online, FactCite, https://www.factcite.com/useh/4000662.html. Accessed 28 May. 2025. -
First 'computer' was built
The first automatic digital computer, called the Complex Computer, was built at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in New York and demonstrated in 1940. The first general-purpose automatic digital computer was the Harvard I.B.M. Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, which went into operation in April, 1944.
“Computers.” American History Online, edited by Karen Ellicott and Timothy L. Gall, Lincoln Library Press, 2012. FactCite, https://www.factcite.com/useh/4000662.html. Accessed 28 May. 2025. -
Presper Eckert Jr works on FULLY ELECTRONIC was being built
Meanwhile, from 1942 to 1946, engineers at the University of Pennsylvania under the direction of J. Presper Eckert, Jr. (1919–95) and John W. Mauchly (1907–80), a physicist, were busy designing and building the world’s first truly electronic computer, called ENIAC, which stood for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator.
“Computers.” American History Online, 2012. FactCite, https://www.factcite.com/useh/4000662.html.