When were computers invented?

Answer 1

We could start with English mathematician Charles Babbage (1791-1871) and his mechanical "Difference Engine", or the ENIAC I (Electronic) Computer created by J Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, and completed in 1946.

However, given that 'to compute' means to reckon or calculate, we can see that computing has been done in human brains for thousands of years!

With regard to mechanical devices for 'computing' we know that the abacus has been used to perform arithmetic calculations for thousands of years.

One of the first 'progammable machines' was the Jacquard weaving loom (1700s) which using changeable card 'programmes' to control pattern formation on elaborate fabrics.

Early calculating machines also used punched cards for data input! Some Wiki contributors will remember them!

So the date for the first computer depends on what is meant by 'computer'!

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Answer 2

The first computer is invented in 1942, by John von Neumann.

John von Neumann had not even thought of a computer in 1942. John Vincent Atanasoff at Ames, Iowa had just finished the ABC, and IBM and Howard Aiken at Harvard had just finished the Harvard Mark I. John von Neumann first heard of computers in 1944 when he was given access to the Harvard Mark I to solve a system of partial differential equations related to the Plutonium MK-III Fatman bomb design. He found out later about ENIAC in 1945. Construction of his own computer at Princeton did not complete until 1951.