26th December 1791
Charles Babbage is born

Charles Babbage is born.

Babbage's birth was registered in St Mary's Newington, London on 6 January 1792. His father was Benjamin Babbage, a banker, and his mother was Betsy Babbage. Babbage's place of birth is not known for certain, but given the location of his birth registration, he was likely born in the family home at 44 Crosby Row, Walworth Road, London.

Babbage entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1810 and received his MA in 1817. In 1816 Babbage was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1820 he played a prominent role in the foundation of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Babbage is often referred to as the "father of computing", because of his work designing machines that could calculate.

Related information:

• University of St Andrews: Biography of Charles Babbage

Image:

• Obituary portrait of Charles Babbage. Illustration for The Illustrated London News, 4 November 1871.
  Credit: Public domain. First published in 1871, copyright expired 70 years after publication.

Related Items in the Collection:

Ada Lovelace meets Charles Babbage

Charles Babbage first articulates his idea for a calculating engine

Charles Babbage publishes a paper describing the Analytical Engine

Babbage's Analytical Engine operates for the first time