Touchpad Plus Ver. 1.1 Class 4: Windows 7 & MS Office 2010

Dear Students! You have learnt about computers in your previous class.

Computer is a familiar word for you today. But have you ever thought ‘Who invented the computer?’ This machine is an outcome of labour of a number of minds. No particular person can be credited with the invention of computers, but several names stand out in the crowd.

early counting tools

Since ancient times, people have invented tools for calculations. Early man tied knots in a rope and carved marks on clay in order to keep the records. They also used to count with the help of fingers, toes, pebbles, stones, sticks, bones, etc.

abacus—first calculating device

Abacus

The first step towards computing was the invention of Abacus around 3000 years ago in China. It is a wooden frame with beads on parallel wires which can do simple calculations like addition and subtraction. This device is used to calculate numbers at a fast speed.

Pascaline Adding Machine

Pascaline

Blaise Pascal

In 1642, a mathematician, Blaise Pascal invented the calculating machine called the Pascaline adding machine. The numbers were fed into the machine by dialing them on the wheels. This device is believed to be the first mechanical calculator of the world. This machine was capable of performing only addition and subtraction.

Leibniz step reckoner

Leibniz Step Reckoner

In 1672, a mathematician, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz invented the digital mechanical calculator called ‘Step Reckoner’. It was the first calculator that could perform all four arithmetic operations, i.e., addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

charles babbage’s analytical engine

Charles Babbage

In 1822, a mathematician named Charles Babbage developed a steam-driven calculating machine that was the size of a room, which he called the Difference Engine. But even after working on this project for 10 years, this machine never became a reality.

In 1833, he invented a machine called the Analytical Engine, the first ever working model of a mechanical computer, a fully program controlled machine. This is why Charles Babbage is known as the ‘father of computers’.

Analytical Engine

Lady Ada Lovelace’s Programs

The instructions given to Babbage’s Analytical Engine were in the form of 0’s and 1’s and the first person to introduce this concept was Lady Ada Lovelace. Since she was the first to introduce the concept of programming, she is known as the first computer