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Babbage's Calculating Engines 1832-71

Charles Babbage's calculating engines are among the most celebrated icons in the prehistory of computing. His Difference Engine No. 1 was the first successful automatic calculator and remains one of the finest examples of precision engineering of the time.

The portion shown was assembled in 1832 by Babbage's engineer, Joseph Clement. It consists of about 2000 parts and represents one-seventh of the complete engine. This 'finished portion of the unfinished engine' was demonstrated to some acclaim by Babbage, and functions impeccably to this day. The engine was never completed and most of the 12 000 parts manufactured were later melted for scrap.

Left: Portion of Difference Engine No. 1 assembled in 1832.

Center: Carriage mechanism of Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2, completed by the Science Museum in 1991

Right: Snapshot by Matt London at the Science Museum

Read more about Charles Babbage at:     http://www.ex.ac.uk/BABBAGE/

Inventory Number: 1862-89, 1878-3                           Return to Lecture Notes 

Source: Science Museum.  London, GB http://www.nmsi.ac.uk/on-line/treasure/objects/1862-89.html