Charles Babbage

Passages from the Life of a Philosopher Charles Babbage

In 1864 English mathematician, engineer and computer designer Charles Babbage published his autobiography, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher, in which he presented the most detailed descriptions of his Diference and Analytical Engines published during his lifetime, and wrote about his struggles to have his highly futuristic inventions appreciated by society. In the wording of his title Babbage used the word philosopher in its now obsolete sense of what we call a "scientist." The word scientist, coined by William Whewell, was not widely used until the end of the 19th or early 20th century.