Early Computing Machines:
Abacus
It was the first mathematical device used to facilitate arithmetic computation and is still in use today, and may be considered the first computer. It was developed around 3000 years ago. This device allows users to make computations using a system of sliding beads arranged on a rack.
Leibnitz Arithmetic Machine
In 1694, a German mathematician and philosopher, Gottfried Wilhem Von Leibnitz, improved the pascaline by creating a machine that could also multiply and divide. Like its predecessor, Leibnitz's mechanical multiplier worked by a system of gears and dials.
Pascaline (Pascal Arithmetic Machine)
Pascaline was invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642 that added and subtracted, automatically carrying and borrowing digits from column to column. Pascal built 50 copies of his machine.
Charles Babbage’s Analytical and Difference Engine
The computers started with the invention of Difference Engine in 1822 and an Analytical Engine by English Mathematician, Professor, Charles Babbage. The Difference Engine was a mechanical device that could count and subtract. The Analytical Engine on the other hand had advanced features and mainly contained four components: the store (memory), the mill (computation unit), the input section and the output section. The great advantage of the Analytical Engine was that it was general purpose. But, Charles Babbage's Engines suffered from the problem of frequent breakdowns.
Lady Augusta Ada
Lady Augusta Ada contributed in the refinement of this machine by inventing and using a new number system called the binary number system using only two digits 0 and 1 instead of using decimal digits.
Hollerith Punch Card Machine
In 1889, an American Inverter, Herman Hollerith invented a punch card machine to process census data. The data was in punch cards in coded form. He designed a wire brush with a wire for each possible location. The card was placed on a metal plate. Wires made contact with plate in the punched hole locations and generated electric pulses. This machine was very successful for tabulation work. This aided to the development of data processing machine. Hollerith brought his punch card reader into the business world, founding Tabulating Machine Company in 1896. Hollerith's Tabulating Machine Company eventually merged with other companies in 1924 to become International Business Machine (IBM).
Mark I
In the 1930s American mathematician Howard Aiken developed the Mark I calculating machine, which was built by IBM. This electronic calculating machine used relays and electromagnetic components to replace mechanical components. In later machines, Aiken used vacuum tubes and solid state transistors to manipulate the binary numbers. Aiken also introduced computers to universities by establishing the first computer science program at Harvard University.
John V. Atanasoff
John V. Atanasoff, a Professor at Lowa State College and his graduate student, Clifford Berry, envisioned an all-electronic computer that applied Boolean algebra to computer circuitry. This approach was based on the mid-19th century work of George Boole who clarified the binary system of algebra, which stated that any mathematical equations could be stated simply as either true or false. By extending this concept to electronic circuits in the form of on or off, Atanasoff and Berry had developed the first all-electronic computer by 1940.
John Mauchely
John Mauchely, an Americian physicist, proposed an electronic digital computer, called the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC), which was built at the Moore School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia by Mauchely and J. Presper Eckert, an American Engineer. ENIAC was completed in 1945 and is regarded as the first successful, general digital computer. It weighed more than 27,000 kg and contained more than 18,000 vacuum tubes. Many of ENIAC‟s first task were for military purposes, such as calculating ballistic firing tables and designing atomic weapons.
Universal Automatic Computer
Eckert and Mauchley eventually formed their own company, which was then bought by the Rand Corporation. They produced the Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC), which was used for a broader variety of commercial applications. UNIVAC was the first successful commercial computer.
Electronic Discrete Variable Computer
At the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Hungarian-American mathematician John von Neumann developed one of the first computers used to solve problems in mathematics, meteorology, economics, and hydrodynamics. Von Neumann’s 1945 Electronic Discrete Variable Computer (EDVAC) was the first electronic computer to use a program stored entirely within its memory.
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