Charles Babbage, the British mathematician and inventor, was born December 26, 1791 in Teignmouth, Devonshire UK. He was the son of a Tory banker - Benjamin (Old Five Percent) Babbage. He designed and built mechanical computing machines on principles that anticipated the modern electronic computer. In the 1820s Babbage began developing his Difference engine, a mechanical device to perform simple mathematical calculations, specifically intended for the production of tables. In the 1830s Babbage began developing his Analytical engine, which w ....