Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine, conceived in 1822 and underwritten by the British Treasury, was never finished in his lifetime. It is a worthwhile exercise to know why. It was not for want of money. The Treasury eventually advanced him £17,000, a sum that could have built a small frigate. It was not for want of design. A working unit was assembled from his drawings in 1991. The project failed because Joseph Clement’s workshop in Lambeth cou…
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