• Question: Who invented the computer?

    Asked by nerd101 to Ben, Jony, Katharine, Mark, Peter on 22 Nov 2011.
    • Photo: Mark Basham

      Mark Basham answered on 22 Nov 2011:

      hi nerd101,

      Well it depends on what you mean by computer, as early things like abacuses and Slide rules were used to help people do mathematics. If you mean a computer more in the now conventional sense I think the Colossus was one of the first which was used to break codes like the Enigma Code in WW2. It was developed by Alan Turing amongst others

      Anyhow, this is something where there is lots of information on the web, so if your interested have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computing_hardware Where there is loads of info.

    • Photo: Peter Williams

      Peter Williams answered on 22 Nov 2011:

      The Collossus Mk1 was designed by Tommy Flowers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_computer

      This was the world’s first programmable computer. Flowers never got the credit in his own lifetime as our Government hushed it up under the official secrets act – result – a bunch of americans got the credit

    • Photo: Jony Hudson

      Jony Hudson answered on 22 Nov 2011:

      Colossus? No way!!

      The first programmable computer was envisaged by Charles Babbage. Unfortunately he didn’t have the technology to be able to build one that worked. But the idea was bang on.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage

      The Science Museum in London have build a working version of one of his designs (The Difference Engine), and they’re thinking about trying to build his best design (The Analytic Engine). They’ve also got his brain just sitting there in a jar to look at!

      http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/images/I033/10303319.aspx

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