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Essay / Charles Babbage Research Paper - 1154
Charles Babbage was born on December 26, 1791. He was one of four children with father Benjamin Babbage and mother Betsy Plumleigh Teape. He had two brothers and a sister. His role in modern society was so vast that millions, if not millions, of people today depend on his inventions. His great creations include the difference engine and the analytical engine. These machines were the first steps toward the magnificent modern computers of the 20th century. Mr Benjamin Babbage, the father of Charles Babbage, was a very wealthy man thanks to his career as a banking assistant at Praed's & Co where he co-founded the syndicate with William Praed. Thanks to this success, he was able to provide his children with the most prestigious institutions and the best tutelage. In 1799, when young Charles was about 8 years old, he had a life-threatening fever, so dangerous that he almost died. His parents were forced to transfer him to a private academy with 30 students and resumed his studies. The academy turned out to play a big role in his creations. The selection of books and resources at the facility inspired him and amplified his love for mathematics. Babbage read many volumes and journals written by mathematicians and eventually taught himself algebra. Some even say he could have taught his many tutors during his high school years. In October 1810 he matriculated at the College of Holy and Undivided Trinity, Cambridge (or today's Trinity College). When the talented Charles arrived, he was disappointed by the deprivation of mathematics offered by the school. Soon, out of boredom, he started a club, consisting of himself and his friends, called the Analytical Society for people who promoted the use of the Leibnizian calculus. Diplomacy was not Babbage's strong point...... middle of paper......of hidden life in the number of everything. In one example, he counts the number of broken shards of glass in a broken factory window just to record the data, create tables from the data, and share the data. Babbage believed that facts were worth collecting and preserving, because the preservation of any fact could ultimately be useful. He wanted others to follow his example and encouraged others to take his place as the father of the computer by asking young people to try to finish what he had started. Unfortunately, the Analytical Engine was only modified and distorted until his death on October 18, 1871. He lived to be 79 years old and made the accomplishments that led to what allows you to read this now. He was the inspiration of thousands of people, he is the inspiration of millions of people. Our lives would all be very different without Charles Babbage and his creations.