Babbage's Analytical Engine operates for the first time

21st January 1888
Babbage's Analytical Engine operates for the first time

The Analytical Engine, designed by Charles Babbage, is considered to be the first gerneral-purpose computer. It was never completed in his lifetime, but his son Henry Provost Babbage built the mill portion of the machine from his father's design.

On January 21st, 1888 the Analytical Engine operated for the first time, computing multiples of pi to prove the adequacy of the design. Perhaps this represents the first successful test of a portion of a modern computer.

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Babbage's Analytical Engine operates for the first time

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