Charles Babbage and the Story of the First Computer

In 1815, there weren’t any computers. Electricity hadn’t yet been discovered as a way to make things run. Calculating sums of numbers had to be done by hand. One mistake would mean adding everything up all over again. But English scientist Charles Babbage was planning to change all that. He planned to use his knowledge of mathematics and engineering to build a machine that would be able to work out the most complicated sums instantly. But someone would have to give it the right program to follow. Women weren’t supposed to know mathematics in his day. But Ada, Countess of Lovelace, was one of the best mathematicians. She became the first computer programmer. And Charles Babbage could become the father of computing—if only he could overcome the biggest problem of all. It wasn’t the lack of electric power. It wasn’t the lack of modern equipment. Before he could succeed, Charles Babbage had to conquer himself.