Born on December 26
Charles Babbage's Birthday
He designed the computer a century early.
Next: December 26, 2026
Where it comes from
Charles Babbage was born in London on 26 December 1791, and this Story marks his birthday. Troubled by the errors in printed mathematical tables, the Cambridge mathematician designed machines to calculate them automatically: the Difference Engines, and then the Analytical Engine, a general-purpose machine that could…
How it's celebrated
There is no official observance, but his engines can still be seen. The Science Museum in London displays the Difference Engine No. 2 that its engineers built from his original drawings. At home, the anniversary is a fine excuse to show a child how a computer works, or to thank whoever fixes the family laptop.
Did you know
Babbage designed Difference Engine No. 2 in 1847–49; the Science Museum finished its calculating section in 1991 for his bicentenary, and it worked exactly as he had predicted.
Read the full story of Charles Babbage's Birthday
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Capricorn · December 22 – January 19 · Earth sign
Patient and ambitious, climbing steadily to the top.