Original: Charles Babbage , FRS ( 26 December 1791 -- 18 October 1871 ) GRO Register of Deaths : December 1871 1a 383 MARYLEBONE - Charles Babbage , aged 79 was an English mathematician , philosopher , inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer .
Simplified: Charles Babbage ( 26 December 1791 -- 18 October 1871 ) was an English mathematician , analytical philosopher , mechanical engineer and computer scientist who originated the idea of a computer that could be programmed .