The first concept of a computer was invented by Charles Babbage, an English mathematician and mechanical engineer, in the early 19th century. He designed the first mechanical computer called the Difference Engine around 1822, and later conceptualized a more advanced design known as the Analytical Engine, which incorporated key features of modern computers such as programmability via punched cards, an arithmetic logic unit, and memory. Although Babbage never completed building these machines due to technical and financial difficulties, his designs laid the foundation for modern computing and earned him the title "father of the computer"
. The first electronic computer, however, was developed much later during World War II. The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC), created by John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry around 1942, was the first electronic digital computer. Shortly after, the ENIAC, developed by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly in 1943-1945, became the first general-purpose electronic computer capable of performing a wide range of calculations
. In summary:
- Charles Babbage invented the first mechanical computer concept in the 1820s.
- The first electronic digital computer was the Atanasoff-Berry Computer in 1942.
- The first general-purpose electronic computer was ENIAC, completed in 1945
