draw a image of Charles Babbage and write down about his life
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Do you ever wonder who you have to thank for the powerful desktop or laptop you are now using for practically everything you do? You might say all thanks should be given to the computer companies of today but in fact, you have Charles Babbage to thank. The name might not be familiar to you just yet but read on because pretty soon, “Charles Babbage” will be on your mind every time you use your computer.
Who is Charles Babbage?
Charles Babbage was born on Dec. 26, 1791 in England. He was a polymath and became a mathematician, mechanical engineer, inventor, and philosopher. He contributed to many different scientific fields but his most famous work is designing a programmable computing device.
Charles Babbage is considered the “father of the computer” and is given credit for devising the first ever mechanical computer. His design served as the blue print for other, more complex machines.
In 1991, a functioning Difference Engine No. 2 was built based on Babbage’s original drawings at the Science Museum, London.It consisted of 8,000 parts, weighed five tons, and measured 11 feet long. The engine was built under conditions that were available during the 19th century. In 2000, the Science Museum also completed the printer Babbage had designed for the difference engine.
There is some dispute about the birthplace of Charles Babbage but as stated in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Babbage was born at 44 Crosby Row at Walworth Road in London, England. A blue plaque has been placed along the junction of Walworth Road and Larcom Street to commemorate the birth of this brilliant man.
Charles Babbage was one of four children born to Betsy Plumleigh Teape and Benjamin Babbage. His father was a banker and he was the partner of William Praed. Together they founded Praed’s & Co. of Fleet Street London in 1801.
When he was 8 years of age, Charles Babbage was sent to the countryside at Alphington near Exeter for schooling to help him recover from a fever that had nearly ended his life. Later he also attended the King Edward VI Grammar School in Totnes, South Devon but due to his poor health he returned home and was educated by private tutors.
Later still, he attended the small Holmwood academy in Enfield, Middlesex. The academy had a library and there Babbage’s love of mathematics blossomed. At the age of about 16 or 17 Babbage went back to Totnes to study and also had a tutor from Oxford. It was under this tutor that he learnt the Classics so that he could be admitted to Cambridge.
At Cambridge
Babbage began his studies at Trinity College in Cambridge in October 1810 and he moved to Peterhouse College, Cambridge in 1812 where he was the top mathematician. He graduated two years later in 1814.
While in Cambridge, he teamed up with notable names like John Herschel and George Peacock to form the Analytical society. He was also a member of other clubs including the Ghost Club which investigated supernatural happenings and The Extractors Club where members professed to liberate one another from the madhouse in the event that anyone was ever committed.
After Cambridge
Babbage became a lecturer at the Royal Institution where he lectured about astronomy. In 1816, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
In 1820 Babbage helped found the he Astronomical Society and in 1824 he won its Gold Medal, “for his invention of an engine for calculating mathematical and astronomical tables”.
