Arithmometer invented Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar of France produces the Arithmometer, the world's first commercially available calculator.
Users dial numbers onto a set of wheels with a stylus then use a hand crank to perform calculations.
English mathematician Charles Babbage proposes to Parliament the construction of a machine to perform mathematical calculations. His designs for the Difference Engine and, later, the more sophisticated Analytical Engine foreshadow the modern electronic computer in many ways. Babbage spends decades trying to build his theoretical computer, with the help of Ada Byron Lovelace, a mathematical prodigy and daughter of the poet Byron. Lovelace proposes a method for giving the machine instructions and is sometimes considered the first computer programmer. Unfortunately, Babbage runs out of funds before he can complete either machine.