Who designed the first computer?

Answer 1

The first computer was designed by Charles Babbage in 1837. It was called the "Analytical Engine". The design was mechanical and Babbage never got to build his machine. It would have operated more like a large mechanical calculator than a computer as we know it.

More recent computers were designed during the Second World War to assist the British in their code breaking efforts, these were either mechanical or electrical in operation.

More modern computers developed all through the 1950's and 1960's, however these were large, bulky machines and operated on systems of vacuum tubes; this used large amounts of electricity, generated large amounts of heat and needed large rooms to be constructed in. The price of operating and maintaining them meant that only the military, universities and insurance companies could afford them.

In the 1970's and 1980's smaller computers were developed using transistor and then Integrated Circuit technologies allowing them to become smaller and produced in larger numbers; this gave rise to consumer products like the Apple 2E, Commodore 64 and ZX81 and ZX Spectrum. These products were refined and updated into the PC's, Laptops and Tablets that we use today.

Answer 2

John Vincent Atanasoff, the ABC, finished in early 1942. It was a 2 man university project, his assistant was Clifford Berry a graduate student. However it was not programmable, it could only solve systems of up to 29 simultaneous equations.

Answer 3

Howard Aiken designed the first relay operated computer that is Howard Mark II.

Answer 4

The first person to design the first fully programmable mechanical computer was an English mathematician called Charles Babbage.

Answer 5

Charles Babbage

Answer 6

The military

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