Passages from the Life of a Philosopher

An 1864 collection of essays by Charles Babbage, the inventor of 'calculating machines', about his life and times.

The mathematician and engineer Charles Babbage (1791–1871) is best remembered for his automatic 'calculating machines', the forerunner of modern computers. Babbage looks back on his life and distinguished career in this book, published in 1864, using many colourful anecdotes to recall his childhood, education and scientific work.The mathematician and engineer Charles Babbage (1791–1871) is best remembered for his 'calculating machines', which are considered the forerunner of modern computers. Over the course of his life he wrote a number of books based on his scientific investigations, but in this volume, published in 1864, Babbage writes in a more personal vein. He points out at the beginning of the work that it 'does not aspire to the name of autobiography', though the chapters sketch out the contours of his life, beginning with his family, his childhood and formative years studying at Cambridge, and moving through various episodes in his scientific career. However, the work also diverges into his observations on other topics, as indicated by chapter titles such as 'Street Nuisances' and 'Wit'. Babbage's colourful recollections give an intimate portrait of the life of one of Britain's most influential inventors.