Charles Babbage was born on 26 December 1791 in Walworth. An English mathematician and inventor, Babbage is often called the father of the computer for his designs of mechanical calculating machines. His Difference Engine was meant to compute and print mathematical tables automatically, and the later Analytical Engine would have had an arithmetic unit, memory and programs given on punched cards, much like a modern computer. Neither was completed in his lifetime, owing to funding problems and the limits of Victorian engineering. Ada Lovelace wrote notes on the Analytical Engine that included what is regarded as the first published computer program. A Difference Engine built from his plans in 1991 worked correctly.
Before and after
- 3 May 1791Constitution of May 3, 1791
- from 14 August 1791 to 1 January 1804Haitian Revolution
- 22 September 1791Birth of Michael Faraday
- 5 December 1791Death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 26 December 1791Birth of Charles Babbage
- 1792Publication of La Marseillaise
- 1792Publication of Dream of the Red Chamber
- 1792Mary Wollstonecraft publishes A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
- 29 February 1792Birth of Gioachino Rossini
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The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.