History of Computers - The Arithometer

Page by: Evan Woodham

The Arithometer

Calculators did not become popular until the beginning of the 19th Century. Also known as the Thomas machine for its creator, Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar, who created it in 1820, the Arithometer made the calculator popular, due to mass production and usefulness.

The Arithometer

Overview

Based on the Leibnitz machine, the Arithometer was the first Calculator that was capable of performing the four operations in a simple and reliable way. The Arithometer had a unidirectional drum, so subtraction and division required setting a lever. The Arithometer was very successful; one-hundred years later, during the first half of the 20th century, the machine was still sold. For his extremely useful invention, Thomas received the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor award for his machine. Thomas founded the Compagnie d'Assurance Le Soleil with other contractors, and sold about 1,500 Arithometers between 1820 and 1930.

Significance

Due to the Arithometer’s popularity and success, many different successor machines were created for it. Some of these machines were the Arithometer created by Arthur Burkhardt in 1878, the MADAS machine, manufactured by H.W. Egli of Switzerland, and the TIM, created by Ludwig Spitz. Without the Arithometer, many mathematical equations and theorems during the 1800's and early 1900's might never have been invented. The Arithometer also provided inspiration for more advanced calculators that came later, setting the groundwork for the electric calculator.

Burkhardt's Arithometer

Links

http://www.xnumber.com/xnumber/mechanical2.htm Mechanical Calculators

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmometer Arithometer

http://www.appl-lachaise.net/appl/article.php3?id_article=392 Awards