Calculating Machine
Although the abacus, the first tool of calculation, has existed since ancient times, advanced calculating machines did not appear until the early 1600s. Scientists and mathematicians were determined to simplify complex astronomical and navigational calculations and realized that mechanical machines were the means to achieve this. In 1617 John Napier (1550-1617), a Scottish mathematician, originated the concept of logarithms. By using logarithms, multiplication and division could be performed by repeated addition and subtraction. Napier mechanized the calculating process by placing his logarithms on wooden cylinders, the surface of which contained numbers that could be manipulated to perform the accurate calculation. the cylinders, enventually made of bone or ivory, came to be known as Napier's bones. For years following its invention, other mathematicians used Napier's bones as the basis for their calculating devices. In 1623 German mathematician Wilhelm Schickard etched the logarithms on cylinders turned by a dial, so that the results were viewed through small windows. Capable of six-digit calculations involving all four mathematical operations, Schickard called his invention a calculator-clock. Unfortunately, both the first and second models of his invention were lost, and scientists did not realize the full significance of his calculator-clock until 1935. In 1642, at the age of nineteen, French mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) developed the Pascaline, a machine capable of adding and subtracting nine-digit numbers. Figures were entered moving numbered wheels linked to each other by gear, similar to a car's odometer. Reportedly, Pascal invented the machine to help his father, a tax collector who spent many hours doing complex calculations. A second mathematician inspired by his tax collector father was Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716) of Germany. Leinbniz introduced the idea of stored information and improved Pascal's design to perform multiplication and division as well. Developed in 1673, the Leibniz calculator, also known as the stepped reckoner, was so advanced in design, variations were used by other inventors for the next three hundred years. Another inventor from the same period was Rene Grillet, a French clockmaker who presented his calculator at local fairs and charged admission to see it. It is unclear whether Grillet's machine was capable of performing complex multiplication and division, but it is known that his machine could handle up to eighteen digits. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Grillet's machine was its size--small enough to be carried in a pocket. A German scientist, Gaspar Schott (1608-1666), developed several methods for inscribing logarithms on mechanical devices. During the 1650s he created a calculator containing ten sets of tables to perform arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, sundial, calendar and music calculations. Although very similar in design to Schikard's calculator, Schott's device was not at all accurate and people soon abandoned its use. In the 1670s Samuel Morland (1625-1695), an English diplomat and inventor, experimented with simple adding machines and more complex models using Napier's logarithms.
Morland recognized the usefulness of a machine that could count money and designed a device specifically for this purpose. Although it was not a financial success, his attempt represented the first commercially sold calculator in Europe, as all earlier devices had been strictly for experimental purposes. In 1820, a commercially successful machine was manufactured by Charles Thomas from France. A well constructed machine, the Arithmometer as it was dubbed, operated with the same stepped wheel design of earlier models. The machine enjoyed great success and dominated the market until the 20th Century when made obsolete by the introduction of keyboards. Calculator design remained basically unchanged through the next fifty years. Limitations in machinery, physical tolerances in the metals and wood used for production restricted designs of that time. In 1822, a prototype for a difference engine was built by Charles Babbage. The next year, he proposed a steam powered analytical engine, but like the difference engine, it was never completed. In 1874, the first alternative to Leibniz's wheel mechanism (in use since 1623) was introduced. A Swedish inventor, Willgodt T. Odhner invented the Odhner, a calculating machine based on a variable toothed gear--the pinwheel, later referred to as "barrel machines." This design proved reliable, easy to use and reduced the size of previous models. Two years earlier, Frank Steven Baldwin from the United States, independently developed the same type of pinwheel calculator, called the Monroe. Although both machines proved profitable to their inventors, the Monroe calculator was able to convert to a motor drive in 1925. In 1880, Herman Hollerith, of the United States, set about tackling the immense task of counting the country's population. He built the first electro-mechanical punched card tabulating machine used in the 1890 census. Soon the need for faster, more accurate recordkeeping, particularly for population studies, insurance and business use became apparent. In 1884, Eugene Felt introduced the Comptometer--a time saving device designed to keep from "turning men in veritable machines." His first model was built with a macaroni box, metal staples, rubber bands and meat skewers. While the Comptometer could do all the mathematical operations, it was not able to record the results of those calculations. William Seward Burroughs recognized the usefulness of such a feature, and in 1891 produced a machine capable of printing numbers and results in a grand total. The machines proved very successful, particularly in the banking and insurance industries. In 1905, Robert A. Pelham (1859-1943), an African-American employed by the Census Bureau, devised the first tabulating machine used in the Census of Manufacturers and in 1913 also developed a similar tallying machine used by the Population Division. In 1972, Texas Instruments introduced the first completely electronic calculator, later versions added memory storage, paper print-outs and programmable features.
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