Computer science development of sophisticated computing equipment. Wilhelm Schickard designed and constructed the first working mechanical calculator in 1623. In 1673, Gottfried Leibniz demonstrated a digital mechanical calculator, called the Stepped Reckoner. He may be considered the first computer scientist and information theorist, for, among other reasons, documenting the binary number system. In 1820, Thomas de Colmar launched the mechanical calculator industry when he released his simplified arithmometer, which was the first calculating machine strong enough and reliable enough to be used daily in an office environment. Charles Babbage started the design of the first "automatic mechanical calculator", his Difference Engine, in
Kenneth Falconer (mathematician) Kenneth Falconer (mathematician) Kenneth John Falconer FRSE (born 25 January 1952) is a mathematician working in mathematical analysis and in particular on fractal geometry . He is Regius Professor of Mathematics in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of St Andrews. He is known for his work on the mathematics of fractals and in particular sets and measures arising from iterated function systems, especially self-similar and self-affine sets. Closely related is his research on Hausdorff and other fractal dimensions. He formulated "Falconer's conjecture" on the dimension of distance sets and conceived the notion of a digital sundial.