1640 AD |
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| As fate would have it, determining who invented the first mechanical calculator is somewhat problematical. Many references cite the French mathematician, physicist, and theologian, Blaise Pascal as being credited with the invention of the first operational calculating machine. |
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In 1640, Pascal started developing a device to help his father add sums of money. The first operating model, the Arithmetic Machine, was introduced in 1642, and Pascal created fifty more devices over the next ten years. (In 1658, Pascal created a scandal when, under the pseudonym of Amos Dettonville, he challenged other mathematicians to a contest and then awarded the prize to himself!) | |
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| However, Pascal's device could only add and subtract, while multiplication and division operations were implemented by performing a series of additions or subtractions. In fact the Arithmetic Machine could really only add, because subtractions were performed using complement techniques, in which the number to be subtracted is first converted into its complement, which is then added to the first number. Interestingly enough, modern computers employ similar complement techniques. | ||
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Leonardo da Vinci's mechanical calculator John Napier and Napier's Bones |
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| These notes are abstracted from the book Bebop BYTES Back (An Unconventional Guide to Computers) Copyright Information |
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