Inventions

Key Points: Early computers are amongst some of the most fascinating inventions around, and they were instrumental in changing the way that we were able to complete tasks such as calculating and even programming. Peter Landin was a British computer scientist who invented such a machine. He is also credited with creating the SECD machine, […]

Key Points John Groesbeck (1834-1884), was a consulting accountant and known as the author of several books, for instance The Crittenden Commercial Arithmetic and Business Manual. Groesbeck took out a US patent for Adding Machine. The original patent had 3 digital positions only, but actually the machine was manufactured with more. Groesbeck’s Adding Machine John […]

Key Points The Golden Gem Adding Machine was a portable, small, and easy-to-use mechanical calculator. The moving force behind Golden Gem and Automatic Adding Machine Company was Abraham Isaac Gancher but it was introduced in 1907 by the Automatic Adding Machine Co., New York. The device’s overall size is 6.9 cm x 13 cm x […]

Key Points William George Cordingley, the author of several books for commerce and stock exchange. This article includes The Computometer of Cordingley patent drawing. The device had 7 digital positions, 5 leftmost are decimal. History of Computers and Computing, Calculating tools, Gadgets, Computometer The Computometer of William George Cordingley The Englishman William George Cordingley, the […]

Key Points: The Centigraph is an adding machine that goes back to 1880. The inventor of the Centigraph Adding Machine was Arthur E. Shattuck. Arthur E. Shattuck got one Canada and four USA patents for calculating devices. Centigraph Adding Machine was equipped with five keys of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Humans are innovators. […]

Key Points The Calcumeter is a fascinating device invented by James J. Walsh in the early 20th century. It was a mechanical calculator designed to perform complex mathematical equations with incredible speed and accuracy. It was marketed to the average businessman who needed to relieve some mental stress caused by frequently using math, and to […]

Key Points This is a continuous band adding machine. There were two versions of the Bassett Adder. The device was sold for $1 in 1909, which is about equivalent to $32 today. The Bassett Adder was a continuous band adding machine which was invented by James Hunter Bassett. It was in production between 1909 and […]

Key Points William Borland and Herman Hoffman worked together to produce this machine and patent. This early machine utilized levers and springs to calculate. Similar to some other inventors, Hoffman had experience as a clockmaker. According to their patent, Borland and Hoffmann designed their adding machine to allow users to “add a column of figures […]

Key Points The BriCal was invented to quickly calculate pre-decimal British currency up to £500. This popular British calculator came in many different configurations for different maximum results and currencies. There are 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shilling in a pound, which make quick currency calculations difficult without a BriCal. BriCal, meaning British […]

Key Points Henry Goldman wrote a book called The Arithmachinst in 1898. In the book, he listed all of the popular adding machines of the time and proposed his own new invention. Henry Goldman’s machine was patented and built in the 1890s. He named it the Arithmachine. The Arithmachine was marketed to bookkeepers, accountants, and […]

Key Points The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek mechanical device used to calculate and display astronomical data. The Antikythera mechanism was discovered by divers in 1900 near Point Gylphadia, Antikythera. The machine was sophisticated for the time and contained 30 miniature gears. Humans have always been fascinated by the night sky and, since ancient […]

Key Points Arthur James Postans lived from 1867 to 1940 and lived in South Kensington, London, and invented many types of machines. Arthur James Postans invented an adding machine, called the Adder, in 1902. The Adder was manufactured by the Adder Cash Register Syndicate Limited of London, England, from 1908 to 1920. From the mid-19th […]

Key Points Adix adding machine inventor ​​Josef Benedikt Pallweber was born on February 7th, 1858 in Austria. First patented in 1904, the Adix adding machine would remain in production for the next 26 years until 1930. The Adix adding machine was an early mechanical calculator with a click-wheel column that added, nine separate keys, and an […]

Key Points About Add-A-Mite The design of Add-A-Mite is very similar to Webb Adder. This calculator is made from aluminum, iron, and brass. This pocket calculator was manufactured by the company Monogram of California When humans first began to grasp the concept of numbers, at least in terms of quantities, they used their fingers and […]

Key Points The earliest calculating devices were the methods of shorthand writing used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Mesopotamians. At one time sticks, knots, and tally marks were popular ways of keeping track of quantities. Early calculating tools are historically significant because, without them, we would have no digital calculators, and without those, we […]

Key Points: The Sector is a military compass used as a calculating instrument.  Sector was introduced in the early 17th century and was used to perform easily diverse geometric and arithmetic operations. The Sector was probably invented by several people concurrently, although it appears that the earliest was the Italian mathematician Fabrizio Mordente (1532-1608) about […]

Key Points: The first documented south-pointing chariot was created by Ma Jun of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms. While his was the first put to paper, it’s likely several other versions of this Chinese compass were conceived before. The south-pointing chariot could only work as an effective navigation tool if the ground surface was […]

Key Points: An Astrolabe is an ancient invention that generates results with the universe’s help by using the positions of the stars or the sun to calculate results. It was once used in navigation to assist explorers and sailors in navigation by calculating distance by measuring the distance between the sun and the stars above […]

Key Points: Pehr-Georg and Edvard Scheutz are best known for creating the first operational and commercially accessible difference engine. After being shown at the 1855 World’s Fair in Paris, the bigger, better version became the first printing calculator to be marketed, and it was delivered in 1857. Scheutz learned how to compute mathematical tables using […]

Key Points The German engineer Christel Hamann (1870-1948) was a historical figure involved in the invention of many mechanical calculating devices. The mechanical calculators at the time were large and heavy, which made them difficult to move around. However, Hamann helped to create many new versions that were much lighter and easier to use. Other […]

Key Points Leonardo Torres y Quevedo was a late nineteenth Spanish civil engineer and mathematician. Leonardo Torres y Quevedo submitted his “Report on Algebraic Machines” to the General Directorate of Public Works in Spain in 1893 Torres-Quevedo invented wireless remote-control operation concepts.  The Torres calculating machine is a machine which solves essential addition, subtraction, multiplication, […]

Key Points George Grant established a gear-cutting machine shop in Charlestown, Massachusetts, soon after his graduation in 1873. George Grant created the difference engine and prepared it for exhibition in 1876. Grant’s difference engine was approximately 2.5 meters long and 1.5 meters high, weighing about 900 kg. Grant’s difference engine was invented in 1876 by […]

Key Points A numerical table is a tool designed to save the time and labor of those engaged in computing work. A numerical table is the Ancient World’s most important astronomical documents. During the thirteenth century the Ptolemy’s tables caught the attention of King Alphonso the Wise of Castile who gathered scholars for research. Charles […]

Key Points An Analytical Machine must have some means of storing the numerical data of the problem to be solved. This article depicts the paper written by Percy E. Ludgate on April 28th, 1901. The reason the paper was written was because of a desire to record Percy E. Ludgate’s indebtedness to Professor C. V. […]