It was capable of performing 25 calculations in a matter of minutes. This machine is made up of vacuum tubes that switch electrical impulses in order to do calculations. Vannevar Bush introduced the first electrical computer, the Differential Analyzer, in 1930. Hollerith began manufacturing these machines in his company, which ultimately became International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924. It could compute statistics and record or sort data or information. Tabulating Machine was a punch card-based mechanical tabulator. It was capable of solving any mathematical problem and storing data in an indefinite memory.Īn American Statistician – Herman Hollerith invented this machine in the year 1890. It was a mechanical computer that took input from punch cards. It was a steam-powered calculating machine used to solve numerical tables such as logarithmic tables.Ĭharles Babbage created another calculating machine, the Analytical Engine, in 1830. It was a mechanical computer that could do basic computations. In the early 1820s, Charles Babbage created the Difference Engine. It was a digital mechanical calculator known as the stepped reckoner because it used fluted drums instead of gears. In 1673, a German mathematician-philosopher named Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz improved on Pascal’s invention to create this apparatus. It was a wooden box with gears and wheels inside. It is thought to be the first mechanical and automated calculator. Pascaline was invented in 1642 by Biaise Pascal, a French mathematician and philosopher. It was also the first machine to calculate using the decimal point system. For calculating, this instrument used 9 separate ivory strips (bones) marked with numerals to multiply and divide. John Napier devised Napier’s Bones, a manually operated calculating apparatus. The abacus operator moves the beads according to certain guidelines to complete arithmetic computations. It’s a wooden rack with metal rods with beads attached to them. Let us look at a few of the early-age computing devices used by mankind.Ībacus was invented by the Chinese around 4000 years ago. More computing devices were produced as technology advanced and the human intellect improved over time.

People used sticks, stones, and bones as counting tools before computers were invented. A computer is an electronic machine that collects information, stores it, processes it according to user instructions, and then returns the result.Ī computer is a programmable electronic device that performs arithmetic and logical operations automatically using a set of instructions provided by the user.

Wooden abacus history