Christie's will sell an example of the first calculating machine in history, developed by Blaise Pascal in 1642, at an upcoming auction in Paris.

In 1867, Frederick A. P. Barnard, a mathematician and the president of Columbia University in New York, served as a judge at the Exposition universelle, a world’s fair held in Paris. There he saw a ...

IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more. The lever-set manual non-printing ...

1954: IBM builds the first calculating machine to use solid-state transistors instead of vacuum tubes. IBM already had a business selling calculating machines, and it was humming along quite nicely.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Gil Press writes about technology, entrepreneurs and innovation. This book is a tale of two quests. The first is Charles Babbage’s ...

The decision to use electronics for our calculating machines has long been decided. However, that doesn’t mean that mechanical engineers didn’t put up a valiant, if ultimately futile, fight.

It’s no bigger than a drinking glass, and it fits easily in the palm of the hand. It resembles a pepper grinder—or perhaps a hand grenade. The diminutive “Curta” is a striking machine, a mechanical ...

THE first calculating machine was invented in 1642 by Blaise Pascal. Had it not been for the War, the tercentenary of this event, which has had such a profound influence on applied mathematics and ...

MAY I make an appeal through your columns to any men of science who have calculating machines of any kind not in active use to communicate with me? My laboratory has at present very heavy computing ...