Charles Babbage (1791-1871) was an English mathematician, inventor, reformer, and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge. He designed the Difference Engine and the more ambitious Analytical Engine, campaigned for precision in manufacturing and public administration, and wrote on political economy, science, and machinery. His memoir records both his inventions and his long frustrations with institutions.
Notable works
Reflections on the Decline of Science in England (1830)
On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures (1832)
Passages from the Life of a Philosopher is Charles Babbage's late memoir of invention, public controversy, and scientific administration. It is not a continuous autobiography so much as a set of argued recollections.
