Computing History 1837 – Analytical Engine.

Charles Babbage first described a general purpose analytical engine in 1837, but worked on the design until his death in 1871. It was never built. As designed, it would have been programmed using punch-cards and would have included features such as sequential control, loops, conditionals and branching. If constructed, it would have been the first “computer” as we think of them today. Augusta Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace 1815-1852.