Charles Babbage Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Considered by some to be a "father of the computer", Babbage is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer that eventually led to more complex electronic designs, though all the essential ideas of modern computers are to be found in Babbage's analytical engine. His varied work in other fields has led him to be described as "pre-eminent" among the many polymaths of his century. Parts of Babbage's incomplete
Digital electronic computer the combination of electronics technology with digital computation in binary that enabled humanity to reach the computation power necessary for today's computing. Advances in quantum computing, DNA computing, optical computing or other technologies could lead to the development of more powerful computers in the future. Digital computers are inherently best described by discrete mathematics, while analog computers are most commonly associated with continuous mathematics. The philosophy of digital physics views the universe as being digital. Konrad Zuse wrote a book known as "Rechnender Raum" in which he described the whole universe as one all-encompassing computer. Digital electronic computer In computer