History of Computing: The Pescaline Computer
By Fay Capstick
Who is Pascal?
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a French mathematician. He was also a physicist, philosopher and writer. He is largely known for his prodigal talent in maths, writing a treatise on projective geometry at only 16 years old.
He had a short life, dying at age 39 after many years in poor health.
What is Pascal’s calculator?
While still a teenager in 1642, 18 year old Pascal started making calculating machines. These have been called Pascal’s calculators and Pescalines. This means he is the inventor of the mechanical calculator, and thus plays a big part in the history of computing.
Pascal’s father’s job with taxes required laborious mathematical calculations and Pascal’s invention was done in the hopes of making the job easier for him.
The calculator was a set of complex mechanisms and parts housed in a brass rectangle box.
What could it do?
Pascal’s calculator could add and subtract two numbers. It could also perform multiplication and division, which it did through repeated addition and subtraction. He was the first to adapt and shrink some parts, such as a lantern gear (found it large clocks), to ease friction when using the machine.
How long did it take to make?
The machine itself was designed in 1642. It took Pascal more than 50 prototypes before it was made public in 1645, accompanied by an 18 page booklet. Around 20 machines were built and the design gradually improved. Pascal was given the equivalent of a patent in the form of a Royal Privilege by the King of France.
The cost and complexity of the machine meant that take up was hindered. Further, it meant that it was never developed into a full scale business.
What did it achieve?
Pascal’s machine counts as the only working calculator in the 17th century, the first calculator to be used in an office (yes, the machine did manage to help his father), the first calculator to be commercialized, and the first to be sold by a distributor, plus the first to be patented (in the form of Royal privilege).
Are any left?
Nine of the approximately twenty machines have survived. Seven are in European museums, one is owned by IBM and one is owned privately. Future calculating machines were inspired by or developed from Pascal’s work.
Pascal’s legacy
The programming language Pascal was named in honour of Blaise Pascal. It was developed in 1970 and widely taught at undergraduate level in the 1980s. It was displaced by the C languages in the early 1990s.
Final thoughts
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