Masterminds of Computer Design: Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace

The design of computing machines might well be said to have begun in the early 19th century with the stories of two English titans, Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace.1,2,3,4 However, the practice of computing machines had to wait until the 20th century when electromechanical and electronic technologies supplanted the merely mechanical technology of their times. Comparing their creations with that of Alan Turing, who in 1936 created a theoretical computing machine to solve a problem in pure mathematics, is instructive.5 Turing’s machine defined for the first time what it means to be computable but was not intended to lead to real computation. However, within ten years real electronic computers were in use solving real computational tasks. Just as the story of Turing and his work is important, the story of Babbage, Lovelace, and their attempt to solve real computational tasks demonstrates the interplay of ideas and available technology.