Charles Babbage & Ada Lovelace Jessica Young

Charles Babbage December 26, 1791 – October 18, 1871 December 26, 1791 – October 18, 1871 Cambridge – Trinity College & Peterhouse Cambridge – Trinity College & Peterhouse Married Georgiana Whitmore on July 2, 1814 Married Georgiana Whitmore on July 2, 1814 Seven children (only three lived until adulthood) Seven children (only three lived until adulthood) Founded Analytical Society, British Association for the Advancement of Science, and Statistical Society of London Founded Analytical Society, British Association for the Advancement of Science, and Statistical Society of London

Ada Lovelace December 15, 1815 – November 27,1852 December 15, 1815 – November 27,1852 Educated in Mathematics Educated in Mathematics Married William King on July 8, 1835 Married William King on July 8, 1835 Three children Three children

Timeline – first paper-making machine – first paper-making machine 1800 – cloth production through use of machines 1800 – cloth production through use of machines 1803 – Jacquard – automatic loom with punched cards 1803 – Jacquard – automatic loom with punched cards 1816 – first working electric telegraph 1816 – first working electric telegraph 1820 – Thomas – arithmometer 1820 – Thomas – arithmometer 1834 – Babbage – Analytical Engine 1834 – Babbage – Analytical Engine 1837 – Morse – electromagnetic telegraph 1837 – Morse – electromagnetic telegraph 1843 – Scheutz – first working difference engine 1843 – Scheutz – first working difference engine 1866 – America and Europe were connected with Atlantic Cable 1866 – America and Europe were connected with Atlantic Cable

Difference Table Successive values of x Successive values of x Differences noted between each adjacent value of f(x) Differences noted between each adjacent value of f(x) f(x)=x 2 +2x+3 x f(x) st difference nd difference

Difference Engine  Mathematical tables  Government paid him more than 17,000 pounds ($1.3 million today)  “It isn’t a computer. It is a dedicated, ‘hardwired’ calculator. It crunches numbers the only way it knows how—by the method of difference.” (Cherfas)  Difference Engine No. 2 completed in 1991 on the 200 th anniversary of his birthday

Scheutz Difference Engine (Georg & Edvard) Finished in 1843 Finished in 1843 Based on Babbage’s design Based on Babbage’s design “Scheutz probably succeeded where Babbage did not because Scheutz was not a perfectionist like Babbage: Scheutz allowed some compromises in order to bring the machine to fruition.” (Norman) “Scheutz probably succeeded where Babbage did not because Scheutz was not a perfectionist like Babbage: Scheutz allowed some compromises in order to bring the machine to fruition.” (Norman)

Analytical Engine General-purpose computer General-purpose computer Technological limitations Technological limitations Punch cards Punch cards “Babbage differed from Morse and Bell in one essential way—his ideas were so far ahead of his time that there was little practical use for his calculating engines when he invented them.” (Norman) “Babbage differed from Morse and Bell in one essential way—his ideas were so far ahead of his time that there was little practical use for his calculating engines when he invented them.” (Norman)

Ada’s “Notes” Menabrea article Menabrea article Ada’s ‘Notes’ Ada’s ‘Notes’ Mastery of mathematical theory and numerical techniques used by Babbage Mastery of mathematical theory and numerical techniques used by Babbage Correction of errors by Menabrea and Babbage Correction of errors by Menabrea and Babbage

Is Babbage the ‘Father of Computers’? Is Babbage the ‘Father of Computers’? Did Ada actually contribute? Did Ada actually contribute?

Sources Cherfas, Jeremy. “Seeking the soul of an old machine: Charles Babbage’s difference engine is ready to run – built for the first time 150 years after it was designed.” Science 252 (1991): Cherfas, Jeremy. “Seeking the soul of an old machine: Charles Babbage’s difference engine is ready to run – built for the first time 150 years after it was designed.” Science 252 (1991): Fuegi John and Fuegi, Jo Francis, "Lovelace & Babbage and the Creation of the 1843 'Notes'," IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, vol. 25, no. 4, pp , Oct-Dec, Jo Francis, "Lovelace & Babbage and the Creation of the 1843 'Notes'," IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, vol. 25, no. 4, pp , Oct-Dec, Fuegi John and Fuegi, Jo Francis, "Lovelace & Babbage and the Creation of the 1843 'Notes'," IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, vol. 25, no. 4, pp , Oct-Dec, Jo Francis, "Lovelace & Babbage and the Creation of the 1843 'Notes'," IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, vol. 25, no. 4, pp , Oct-Dec, Hyman, Anthony. Charles Babbage – Pioneer of the Computer. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, Hyman, Anthony. Charles Babbage – Pioneer of the Computer. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, James, C. L. and Morrill, D. E The real Ada, countess of Lovelace. SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes 8, 1 (Jan. 1983), James, C. L. and Morrill, D. E The real Ada, countess of Lovelace. SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes 8, 1 (Jan. 1983), Kidwell, Peggy A. and Paul E. Ceruzzi. A Smithsonian Pictorial History. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, Kidwell, Peggy A. and Paul E. Ceruzzi. A Smithsonian Pictorial History. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, Lee, J. A. N. “Charles Babbage.” 30 Sept Virginia Tech. 3 Apr Lee, J. A. N. “Charles Babbage.” 30 Sept Virginia Tech. 3 Apr Norman, Jeremy M. From Gutenburg to the Internet – A Sourcebook on the History of Information Technology. Novato, California: historyofscience.com, Norman, Jeremy M. From Gutenburg to the Internet – A Sourcebook on the History of Information Technology. Novato, California: historyofscience.com, Toole, Betty A., Ed.D. Ada, the Enchantress of Numbers. Mill Valley, California: Strawberry Press, Toole, Betty A., Ed.D. Ada, the Enchantress of Numbers. Mill Valley, California: Strawberry Press, Williams, Michael R. A History of Computing Technology. 2 nd ed. Washington: IEEE Computer Society Press, Williams, Michael R. A History of Computing Technology. 2 nd ed. Washington: IEEE Computer Society Press, 1997.

Difference Table Example x3x3 x12345 f(x) 1 st difference 2 nd difference 3 rd difference