JF Ptak Science Books  Quick Post

Here’s a very interesting report from an 1878 issue of Nature (volume 18 pp 460) considering the construction and its consequences of the yet-built Babbage computer (analytical machine). Charles Babbage died in Marylebone in 1871 and bequeathed his working archive to his youngest son Henry (1824-1918)  who expected to carry his father’s work into the future. This is one attempt to construct a working machine from the Babbage plans. I’ve reproduced most of the Nature article below, with a few inconsequential edits. Enjoy. 

REPORTS Report of the Committee, consisting of Prof. Cayley, Dr. Farr, Mr. J. W. L. Glaisher, Dr. Pole, Prof. Fuller, Prof. A. B. W. Kennedy, Prof. Clifford, and Mr. C. W. Merrifield, appointed to consider the Advisability and to estimate the Expense of constructing Mr. Babbage’s Analytical Machine, and of printing Tables by its means. Drawn up by Mr. Merrifield. We desire in the first place to record our obligations to General Henry Babbage for the frank and liberal manner in which he has assisted the Committee, not only by placing at their disposal all the information within his reach, but by exhibiting and explaining to them, at no small loss of time and sacrifice of personal convenience, the machinery and papers left by his father, the late Mr. Babbage. Without the valuable aid thus kindly rendered to them by General Babbage it would have been simply impossible for the Committee to have come to any definite conclusions, or to present any useful report.

We refer to the chapter in Mr. Babbage’s “Passages from the Life of a Philosopher,”and to General Menabrea’s paper, translated and annotated by Lady Lovelace, in the third volume of “Taylor’s Scientific Memoirs,”for a general description of the analytical engine.

The Report then, in Section I., contains an account of the general principles of calculating engines, and proceeds:

Section II. Special Characteristics of Mr. Babbage’s Analytical Engine.