Full name: Charles Babbage Born: 26th December 1791 Invention/Achievement:The Computer - Pioneering work on computer science, with the 'Difference Engine' Date of introduction/Achievement: 1823, first calculating machine to make calculations to 20 decimal places Died: 18th October 1871

Although born in the reign of George III, Charles Babbage was the epitome of those energetic, imaginative Victorians who changed the world.  

A mathematician, Babbage conceived what he termed the "difference engine", an analytical device considered to be the forerunner of modern computers and what led to Babbage being known as the "Father of the computer".  

Charles Babbage was born in December 1791, probably in the Walworth Road, London - yet conflicting sources give his birthplace as Devon.  After showing a precocious interest in mathematics, in 1810 he went to Cambridge University and in 1812 became a co-founder of the Analytical Society.  After graduation, Babbage was hired by the Royal Institution to lecture on calculus, but was unsuccessful in applying for teaching posts.  

He was financially dependent on his father, a banker, but upon the latter's death he went on to inherited a substantial fortune.  

From 1828-1839 Babbage served as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University.  He had shown a great interest in mechanical computing and had made a small calculating machine when in 1823 he obtained government support for a machine to perform mathematical calculations to 20 decimal places.  

During the 1830s Babbage began developing plans for a more ambitious machine that went beyond simple calculations.  His plans for the so called "difference engine" included features such as the ability to perform arithmetical functions using instructions from punched cards, a memory unit in which to store data, sequential control and most of the other basic elements of present day digital computers.  

He made an experimental six wheeled model and developed plans for a bigger and more capable machine - "Difference Engine 2".  The Analytical Engine was a much more complex machine, but due to the limitation of precision metal working at the time, neither was built in Babbage's lifetime.

 In 1991 a difference engine was built using Babbage's original plans and was found to function as planned.  In addition to his computing work, Babbage also helped with the establishment of the postal system, compiled the first reliable actuarial tables and invented a type of speedometer.  He died at Marylebone, London, on 18^th October 1871.