Charles Babbage was a Cambridge graduate ~ eventually a professor ~ studying mathematics ~ but latterly greatly talented in a wide variety of engineering related and wider philosophical subjects.
On browsing Wikipedia I find the variety of his interests and expertise too great and complex to make full notes here. I read details of ~ geographical surveying ~ reorganzing the postal system ~ Liberal party candidate for parliament (unsuccessful) ~ efficient re-organization of factory labour ~ economy of machinery ~ structure of book publishing ~ natural theology ~ railway engineering ~ cryptography ~ correcting mistakes in logarithm tables ~ inventing mechanical machines to do maths...which became the basis of computers.
I hope these notes might stimulate readers to discover more about his long and eventful life ~ and his biography is peppered with numerous friendships and acquaintancs of other well known inventors and discoverers.
