Did you know that what you are doing at this precise moment, using a computer, owes much to the ideas of a fellow named Charles Babbage? Mr. Babbage was born in England in the early 1800's and died there in 1871. He was a mathematician who theorized that a machine could automate many of the mathematical functions that were done manually in his day. He drew up the designs for such a machine, and even built a prototype, but was never able to obtain the funding needed to bring the project to completion. Concerning his machine, he remarked that "another age must be the judge."
In the 1980's a fellow in London came across Mr. Babbage's designs and spent about 20 years building a working model of the machine. And it worked exactly like Mr. Babbage thought it would. Because of his recognition that a machine could automate mathematical calculations, Mr. Babbage is today considered by many to be the father of modern computing.
This story has many interesting twists, turns, and nuances. You can read the entire story by clicking HERE. There is also a video available at the link that shows the machine being operated.
