CHARLES Babbage

Charles Babbage (Dec. 1791 – Oct. 1871)

Charles Babbage was born on Dec. 26, 1791, London, England And died on Oct 18, 1871

Babbage's birthplace is disputed, but he was most likely born at 44 Crosby Row, Walworth Road, London, England.

FamilyFather : Benjamin Babbage, was a banking partner of the Praeds and owned the Bitton Estate in Teignmouth

Mother : Betsy Plumleigh Babbage

Wife : He married Georgiana Whitmore (In 1814)

Children : Charles and georgiana had eight children

His father's money allowed Charles to receive instruction from several schools and tutors during the course of his elementary education.

Around the age of eight he was sent to a country school in Alphington near Exeter to recover from a life-threatening fever.

He studied at different schools which included King Edward VI Grammar School in Totnes, South Devon,Academy such as Holmwood academy, in Baker Street, Enfield, Middlesex and took facility of private tutors.

EDUCATIONBabbage suffered from many childhood illnesses, which forced his family to send him to a clergy operated school for special care.

His interest in Mathematics got generated during his stint at the Academy at Forty Hills in Middlesex.

Babbage arrived at Trinity College, Cambridge in October 1810

Had read extensively in Leibniz, Joseph Louis Lagrange, Thomas Simpson, and Lacroix .

Being disappointed in the mathematical instruction available at Cambridge, In response, Babbage, John Herschel, George Peacock, and several other friends formed the Analytical Society in 1812.

He was also a member of Ghost club and The Extractors Club.

In 1812 Babbage transferred to Peterhouse, Cambridge.

Being the top mathematician at Peterhouse, he failed to graduate with honours but instead received an honorary degree without examination in 1814

OccupationCharles Babbage, was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer.

He undertook various Experiments, Research work and was also a Management Scientist.

Contribution

Contributed three papers on the ‘’Calculus of Functions’’ to the Philosophical Transactions between 1815-1817

Became a Fellow member of the Royal Society in 1816

Raised the Standard of Mathematical instruction in England alongwith JOHN HERSCHEL and GEORGE PEACOCK

In 1822, he contributed to the Royal Society on the relation between Notation and Mechanism.

From 1828-1839 Babbage was Lucasian professor of Mathematics at Cambridge.

He Contributed largely to several scientific peiodicals.

He was instrumental in founding the Astronomical(1820) and Statistical(1834) Socities.

Work and ExperimentsCharles Babbage is Considered as a “father of the computer’’

Babbage is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer that eventually led to more complex designs.

Difference Engine

Babbage presented something that he called "difference engine" to the Royal Astronomical Society on Jun 14, 1822

It was able to calculate polynomials by using a numerical method called the differences method.

The Society approved the idea, and the government granted him £1500 to construct it, in 1823.

Analytical Engine

After his Difference Engine failed in its test in 1833, Babbage started the design of the Analytical Engine in 1834.

He than began to think about an improved calculating engine.

Between 1833 and 1842 he tried to build a machine that would be programmable to do any kind of calculation, not just ones relating to polynomial equations.

The mature analytical engine used punched cards adapted from the Jacquard loom to specify input and the calculations to perform.

The engine consisted of two parts: the mill and the store.

The mill, analogous to a modern computer's CPU, executed the operations on values retrieved from the store, which we would consider memory.

punched cards

Difference Engine No.2

Using knowledge gained from the analytical engine Babbage started designing a second difference engine between October 1846 and March 1849

It used only about 8000 parts, three times fewer than the first.

It was a marvel of mechanical engineering.

Unlike the analytical engine that he continually tweaked and modified, he did not try to improve the second difference engine after completing the initial design.

Babbage made no attempt to actually construct the machine.

Babbage's accomplishmentsIn 1824 Babbage won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society "for his invention of an engine for calculating mathematical and astronomical tables".

From 1828 to 1839 Babbage was Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge.

He contributed largely to several scientific periodicals, and was instrumental in founding the Astronomical Society in 1820 and the Statistical Society in 1834.

Charles Babbage also achieved notable results in cryptography.

Babbage also invented the pilot (also called a cow-catcher), the metal frame attached to the front of locomotives that clears the tracks of obstacles in 1838

He also performed several studies on Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Great Western Railway.

“Early Approach to Management ” MANAGEMENT SCIENTIST

A MATHS PROFESSOR WHO PUBLICLY SUPPORTED THE IDEA OF DIVISION OF LABOUR

HE BELIEVED THAT EACH FACTORY OPERATION SHOULD BE THOROUGHLY UNDERSTOOD SO THAT THE NECESESSARY SKILL INVOLVED IN EACH OPERATION COULD BE ISOLATED

HE WAS IMPRESSED AND BELIEVED IN THE WORK SPECIALISATION CONCEPT(THE DEGREE TO WHICH WORK IS DIVIDED INTO VARIOUS TASKS)

EACH OPERATION COULD THEN BE TRAINED IN ONE SPECIFIC SKILL AND MADE RESPONSIBLE ONLY FOR THAT PART OF OPERATION