ABSTRACT
James O. Hicks Jr. provides a fascinating outline of the early developments in the data processing field by noting the abacus as the first known device capable of making calculations, something so fundamental to the development of today’s computer industry. Whereas the Greeks and Romans used the abacus in ancient times, the Chinese made significant improvements to it. The next major introduction into the field of calculations occurred in 1642, when a French mathematician, Blaise Pascal, developed a “gear-driven” mechanical calculator capable of addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Twenty-nine years later, in 1671, a German mathematician, Gottfried Leibnitz, improved upon Pascal’s design, and his new mechanical calculator could offer both division and the ability to determine square roots.1 The concept of performing calculations from beads to abacus to the use of mechanical wheels was fundamental to the modern computer industry’s development.
