The history of computing hardware spans developments from early devices used for simple calculations to today's complex computers, encompassing advances in both analog and digital technology.
The Ishango bone is thought to be a Paleolithic tally stick.
View through the back of Pascal's calculator. Pascal invented his machine in 1642.
A set of John Napier's calculating tables from around 1680
Detail of an arithmometer built before 1851. The one-digit multiplier cursor (ivory top) is the leftmost cursor.
Mechanical calculator
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A mechanical calculator, or calculating machine, is a mechanical device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic automatically, or a simulation like an analog computer or a slide rule. Most
Four of Pascal's calculators and one machine built by Lépine in 1725, Musée des Arts et Métiers
Replica of Schickard´s calculator
Detail of a replica of an 18th-century calculating machine, designed and built by German Johann-Helfrich Müller.
A mechanical calculator from Anton Braun, dated 1727