Long before Bill Gates began to sell Windows and even longer before Google became the king of the internet, there were people laying the ground work for the computers we have today. Did you know that computers have actually been in existence since the mid 1930’s however these early computers looked and acted nothing like the machines we use today. How did we get from there to now? With the help of a few key scientists and mathematicians who concentrated on the ideas of computing and improving the computers we had.
George Boole is consider by many to be the father of computer science. While his work fell out of fashion after his death in 1864, today the ideas that Boole developed are considered very relevant. George Boole is the creator of Boolean Algebra which is the basis of how all digital computers work. Boole was born in England in 1815, he became a teacher during his teen years and at 20 years old he opened his own school. At 34, Boole moved to Ireland and became the first professor of mathematics at Queen’s College where he remained until his death. Boole concentrated on mathematical research that linked the ideas of logic to algebra instead of philosophy. Boole’s greatest achievement was his use of algerbra to express logical propositions. Boole was considered to be ahead of his time, he wrote many essays in the mid 19th century expresssing his understanding of logic and the relationship to mathematics. You probably know a few Boolean words yourself because we still use his algebra when using internet search engines.
Konrad Zuse was a construction engineer during WWII where he earned the unofficial title of “inventor of the modern computer.” One of the most difficult tasks of doing a large calculation on a slide rule or adding machine is keeping track of the intermediate results and correctly replacing these results later in the process. Zuse wanted to create a process to complete these large calculations easily and he realized that an automatic calculator would do the trick as long as it had a control, memory, and the calculating processor. In 1936, Zuse made the first binary computer called the Z1 unfortunatley this computer was destroyed during World War II but Zuse continued to work on his binary computers creating the Z2, Z3, and Z4 through the 1940s.
John Von Neumann was considered a child prodigy when he was born in Hungry in 1903 and was another mathematician and scientist who has been credited as fundamental to the creation of the computer we use today. Before Von Neumann, most mathematicians used computers to create tables of data that were then applied to abstract mathematical ideas. Von Neumann was interested in applying the processing power of computer to specific mathematical problems instead of creating these abstract ideas. Von Neumann focused on developing the EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) computer which was to be the first computer that could store and recall programs. Later in life Von Neumann worked for the IBM company and was responsible for accepting new computer ideas into their research and development program. Von Neumann became one of the most influential people in the computing field as any new ideas for development that were taken to IBM had to pass his approval.
Alan Turing, born 1912 in London studied mathematics at Cambridge University and was greately influenced by the early publications of Von Neumann. Turing worked during World War II on deciphering German code cyphers and is credited as instrumental in cracking the German secret codes. Turing is also credited for designing what many believe to be the first electronic computer. Turing designed the ACE (Automatic Computing Engine) but this machine was never built. Had the ACE been completed it would have been faster and had more memory than any computer created before it. Turing understood the concept that Von Neumann exponded upon with a computers need to store and recall programs. In 1950, Turin invented the Turing Test which is a philiosophical and logical test designed to test for intelligence in computers.
As we progress through the history with computers there is often great controversy about who to credit for specific findings and discoverys. Many scientists worked together to publish papers and create working models of their theories and in some cases this has caused great debate on who to credit for a theory or discovery. While one person may believe that the EDVAC computer bares no resembelance to the computers we use today, there is someone else who directly sites EDVAC as the grandfather of the computers we use today. In general, we need to be aware how the ideas of one person have been built upon by the scientists of the next generation. You may have your favorite historical person fundmental to the creation of the computer and the truth is that without all of the great minds associated with computing we would not have anything at all.
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