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	CHARLES BABBAGE (1791-1871):  the Calculating Engine in the South Carolina College Library
	Introduction Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 References Home   The role of Charles Babbage (1791-1871) in the prehistory of computing has often been told.  Babbage’s designs for his mechanical Difference Engine and Analytical Engine pioneered many concepts used in modern computers (for instance, the distinction between the calculating engine itself and memory storage, and the creation of pre-designed programs for standard operations).  This exhibit uses many of the original publications in which Babbage put forward his ideas, to illustrate the range of historically-significant materials represented in the library of the antebellum South Carolina College and now available for study in the modern Department of Rare Books & Special Collections. [ Introduction ] [ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | References ] [ Home ]

This page updated August 4, 2003 by the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Copyright © 2003, the University of South Carolina. URL http://www.sc.edu/library/spcoll/babbage/intro.html

Special Collections and Rare Books Thomas Cooper Library, Mezz Level The University of South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina 29208 Phone: 803 777-8154 Fax: 803-777-4661