The first computer concept was originated by Charles Babbage, an English mechanical engineer and polymath, in the early 19th century. He is considered the "father of the computer" and designed mechanical computers called the Difference Engine and later the Analytical Engine, which was a general-purpose programmable computer design. However, Babbage's machines were never fully built in his lifetime due to technical difficulties and lack of funding. The first successful mechanical computer based on his designs was completed much later in 1991. The first fully electronic general-purpose digital computer was the ENIAC, built in 1945 by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly. In summary:
- Charles Babbage conceptualized the first programmable mechanical computer in the 1820s-1830s but did not complete it.
- The first electronic general-purpose computer was ENIAC in 1945.
- Konrad Zuse built the first working electromechanical programmable computer, called Z3, in 1941.
Thus, Babbage made the foundational concept of the first computer, but the first actual working computers came nearly a century later with Zuse and then ENIAC.
