The origins of a modern day computer.

Computers : A Brief Pre-history

The first use of the word "computer" was recorded in 1613, referring to a person who carried out calculations, or computations. The word continues till today with the same meaning often used as well. However, from the end of the 19th century, the word began to take on its more familiar meaning to people nowadays, which is a machine that carries out computations. 


The first computers did not have electrical circuits, monitors or memory. The abacus, an ancient Chinese adding machine, is one of the original computing machines, used as early as 400 B.C. It can't do many of the computations that a modern electronic calculator can do, but it in the right hands it can make calculating large sums as easy as moving beads around. Famous mathematicians such as Leonardo da Vinci and Blaise Pascal invented more sophisticated calculators using gears and punch cards.

Read more: A History of Computers for Kids | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_7982362_history-computers-kids.html#ixzz27s0bVhc1