A brief history of the first computer

The first computer was invented by Charles Babbage, an English mathematician and inventor, in 1822, but the first working computer was not built until 1945 by Konrad Zuse, an inventor and engineer from Germany. The first commercial computers were developed in the 1950s and '60s and became mainstream in the 1970s. Today, there are millions of computers operating throughout the world at homes, businesses, schools and government facilities. Computer technology is advancing rapidly as companies develop new uses for computers and improve upon existing ones to create faster processing speeds and more innovative programs to improve efficiency in businesses and education around the world.

The Development of the First Computer

The history of computers and their development dates back to 1637. From 18th century calculators, to 19th century keyboards, and from mechanical tools to electronic machines, the journey of how we arrived at modern-day computing is an interesting one. The first true design for a device like a computer was in 1834 when Charles Babbage published a description for an analytical engine. Like most inventions, the computer took years to develop before anything actually came about because, surprisingly enough, it was left without funding. But by 1937 J. Presper Eckert had created ENIAC which stood for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer and was programmed using binary code - making it one of many predecessors to more modern computers! Fast forward to 1946, when John V. Atanasoff and Clifford Berry created a computer called ABC. It was used for physics equations and calculations which made it one of a kind! The first digital computer for commercial use came in 1950 when Remington Rand released UNIVAC I. This was an advancement from old calculating machines because it used transistors instead of relays for its operations. By 1958, IBM had taken over many businesses by manufacturing their own computers, as well as owning other companies that did so such as Burroughs Corp., NCR Corp., Control Data Corp., and Univac Inc.

The Enigma Machine

The history of computers is tied to the history of encryption. Secret messages can be sent by encoding them into an unreadable format, such as a ciphertext or code. A key is needed to decode the message. The history of computers starts with one way to do this using a device called an Enigma Machine, which encodes messages through mechanical rotor switches that scramble each letter in a word, just like crossword puzzles where words have different combinations of letters in different places. In WWII, Germans used it to send secret messages and the Allies used it to decode them. In fact, it was British mathematicians who led the work on breaking Enigma codes at Bletchley Park during World War II.

Joseph Marie Jacquard's Automatic Loom

The most significant event in computer history, Joseph Marie Jacquard's Automatic Loom, occurred in 1801. The Automatic Loom is credited with inventing computer programming by using punched cards to direct mechanical punch arms which created patterned fabric and from there grew into a fully functional programmable calculator. These punch cards or cords are the predecessor to modern-day computer coding. Charles Babbage's Difference Engine: In 1822, mathematician Charles Babbage invented an automatic computing machine called Difference Engine that used a system of cogs and wheels to perform mathematical calculations. This is considered one of three lost machines in computer history because only drawings remain, making it difficult to determine if and how it worked, but it was recognized as being revolutionary at its time. James Powers designed a functioning version in 1991 with plans based on Babbage's drawings. Ada Lovelace's Calculating Machine: Another famous lost machine in computer history is a small device developed by Lady Ada Lovelace which she said was capable of solving Bernoulli numbers through series by successive approximation.

The First Computer Programmers

Computer programming had a tumultuous start. The first person to formally design and lay out how a computer program should work was Ada Lovelace. She programmed an algorithm that could run on an analytical engine created by Charles Babbage in 1837. All through the 1930s programmers were creating their own proprietary programming languages like early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN which couldn't be shared with others, making it difficult for programmers to learn from each other's code. In 1954 Grace Hopper, who had been working on programs for IBM mainframes, devised what is now known as machine language or 1s and Os, which allowed computers to speak instructions in a universal language.

Ada Lovelace, Daughter of Lord Byron

According to historians, when Ada's mother became ill with cancer in 1827, Lord Byron sent his 17year-old daughter from London to her mother and sister. Shortly after her arrival in Italy, her mother died and she spent three years with Ada living as an invalid. It was during this time that Ada began making notes about how math could be translated into code. Later on in life, through lectures and conversations at social gatherings (after she married), Ada began connecting mathematic concepts with today's computers. On December 10th, 1843 she mailed a paper she wrote called Notes to one of the foremost English scientists of the day - mathematician Charles Babbage.

From Analog to Digital Computers

The evolution of computers from analog to digital is an interesting topic. For this, I will provide a brief overview so we can start with a little computer history. Analog computing was used in early computers and is different from digital computing. In the case of analog processing, data were represented by constantly changing physical quantities, such as position, velocity, direction and power levels; whereas in the case of digital processing it was represented as individual binary numbers (digits).Computers that use analog processing are much more complicated than those that use digital processingsHowever, some examples of these types of machines are: differential analyzers, and FACTS controllersAll three of these are examples of machines that would be used for engineering purposes.

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