Early Calculating Machines

Before computers came into existence, there were already calculating machines invented. If computers can be compared to lions and tigers, then these early machines are the dinosaurs. Like the dinosaurs, they were considered extinct. Their flesh and blood were long gone(as well as their) usefulness but their skeletons remained. Maybe to remind us, that they exist a long, long time ago and worth remembering as part of our past. Now let us travel back in time (with our time machine?).
In 1642, Blaise Pascal a French mathematician and philosopher invented an adding machine called “Pascaline”. His concept and design was used and adapted by all mechanical calculator inventors in early 20th century.
In 1830, Charles Babbage an English mathematician invented the “Difference Engine” that would solve certain equations. After the British government withdrew its financial support to his project, he later conceived the idea to invent the “Analytical Engine” which he hoped would perform many kinds of calculations. His idea embodied the five key features of our modern computer today which are input device, a place for storage, a processor a control unit and an output device. This invention earns him a title “Father of computer”. After Babbage’s death, his son was able to designed and construct the analytical engine based on his model. Charles Babbage has a colleague in his work with the analytical engine. Her name is Augusta Ada Byron, a gifted mathematician who helped him develop the instructions with Babbage and her publications Lovelace. Because of her close associations with Babbage and her publications of notes about his work, she was named “the first computer programmer”.
In 1890, Herman Hollerith devised a punched-card tabulating machine. His invention was used to tabulate the 1890 U.S. census. Six years later, he founded the tabulating machine company. Five years later, his company was merged with several companies and form the Computing-Tabulating Recording Company. Thomas J. Watson Sr. the company’s general manager changed its name to International Business Machine (IBM) in 1924. Today, IBM is still the world’s biggest and largest computer hardware company.