The world has witnessed a remarkable transformation in the technology of computers over the years. From the first mechanical computer created by Charles Babbage in 1822 to the modern computers we use today, the evolution of computers has been fascinating. In this article, we will explore the first computer in the world and highlight its milestones.
The first mechanical computer, the Difference Engine, was conceptualized and developed by Charles Babbage in 1822. The machine was capable of computing several sets of numbers and making hard copies of the results. However, due to funding issues, Babbage was never able to complete a full-scale functional version of the machine.
In 1837, Babbage proposed the first general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. It contained an Arithmetic Logic Unit, basic flow control, punch cards, and integrated memory. Unfortunately, this computer was also never built due to funding issues.
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| Analytical engine -1837 |
In 1890, Herman Hollerith developed a method for machines to record and store information on punch cards for the US census. This machine was approximately ten times faster than manual tabulations and saved the census office millions of dollars. Hollerith would later form the company we know today as IBM.
The first programmable computer was the Z1, created by German Konrad Zuse in his parents' living room between 1936 and 1938. It was the first electromechanical binary programmable computer and the first functional modern computer. Konrad Zuse also later created the Z3, the first functioning programmable computer that could be fully automated.
The Turing machine was first proposed by Alan Turing in 1936 and became the foundation for theories about computing and computers. The machine was a device that printed symbols on paper tape in a manner that emulated a person following several logical instructions. Without these fundamentals, we wouldn't have the computers we use today.
The Colossus was the first electric programmable computer, developed by Tommy Flowers and was first demonstrated in December 1943. The Colossus was created to help the British code breakers read encrypted German messages.
The ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer) began development by Professor John Vincent Atanasoff and graduate student Cliff Berry in 1937. Its development continued until 1942 at Iowa State College (now Iowa State University). The ABC was an electrical computer that used more than 300 vacuum tubes for digital computation, including binary math and Boolean logic, and had no CPU (was not programmable).
The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was invented by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania and began construction in 1943 and was not completed until 1946. It occupied about 1,800 square feet and used about 18,000 vacuum tubes, weighing almost 50 tons. Although a judge later ruled the ABC computer was the first digital computer, many still consider the ENIAC to be the first digital computer because of its programmability and the fact that it was the first to be used for general-purpose computing.
In conclusion, the evolution of computers has been fascinating, and we have come a long way since the first mechanical computer. While Charles Babbage's Difference Engine is considered the first automatic computing machine, the title of the first computer in the world is debatable due to the many different classifications of computers. Regardless, the inventions and innovations made over the years have shaped the world we live in today.