In a modern world that seems seamlessly integrated with technology, it is easy to forget the humble beginnings of the computer or the incredible technological advancements that made its development possible. So let’s take a look back on some of the most influential inventors and their contributions that allowed for the birth of the technology we interact with every day.
Charles Babbage, the Father of the Computer (1791 – 1871)
Considered by some to be the ‘father of the computer,’ philosopher and inventor Charles Babbage was an English mathematician with a wide range of knowledge and experience in mechanical engineering in the 1800s.
Charles Babbage created the Difference Engine, a mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions automatically. As a result, he is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer. While working on the Difference Engine, Babbage realized a more general design was possible. This work then led to more advanced electronic structures and the invention of the Analytical Engine. The Analytical Engine design is a general-purpose mechanical computer and is the foundation for the basic concepts and ideas of modern computers.
Charles Babbage died before the final engineering of many of his inventions, including the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine. In 1991 The London Science Museum built a working Difference Machine using materials and engineering tolerances available in the 1800s. Babbage’s invention would have successfully run if produced during his lifetime.
George Boole and Boolean Logic (1815-1864)
Completing only a primary school education and lessons from his father, George Boole was a primarily self-taught mathematician, logician, and philosopher. Boole worked in the fields of algebraic logic and differential equations and is best known for Boolean algebra, found in his best-known paper ‘The Laws of Thought’ in 1854.
Boolean logic is generally credited with creating the foundations for the Information Age. The core of Boolean logic is the idea that all values are either true or false. Boolean logic is a type of algebra geared around three words, also known as Boolean Operators; “Or,” “And,” or “Not.” Even now, Boolean logic is used for operation and design of electronic computers’ binary digits and logical elements.
Walter Brattain and the Transistor (1902-1987)
Walter Brattain was an American physicist at Bell Labs who spent most of his life researching surface states. In 1947, Brattain, along with William Shockley and John Bardeen, worked on semiconductor research and invented the point-contact transistor and ultimately shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work. The point-contact transistor entered production in the 1950s. It also led to the first widespread use of transistors. As a result of the invention of the transistor, advances in technology, most notably the computer, became more frequent. At the time, the telephone industry was very dependent on vacuum tubes to amplify current and control electron flow. However, vacuum tubes were not efficient, and they were not reliable. In addition, vacuum tubes were bulky and unreliable. Replacing vacuum tubes with transistors used less space and less power and performed more consistently.
