Rechenmaschine gottfried wilhelm leibniz biography
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Stepped reckoner
Early mechanical calculator
The stepped reckoner or Leibniz calculator was a mechanical calculator invented by the German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (started in 1673, when he presented a wooden model to the Royal Society of London[2] and completed in 1694).[1] The name comes from the translation of the German term for its operating mechanism, Staffelwalze, meaning "stepped drum". It was the first calculator that could perform all four basic arithmetic operations.[3]
Its intricate precision gearwork, however, was somewhat beyond the fabrication technology of the time; mechanical problems, in addition to a design flaw in the carry mechanism, prevented the machines from working reliably.[4][5]
Two prototypes were built; today only one survives in the National Library of Lower Saxony (Niedersächsische Landesbibliothek) in Hanover, Germany. Several later replicas are on display, such as the on
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Sheets, The Leibnitz Calculating Machine
In the llate nineteenth century, with the successful introduction of commercial calculating machines, scholars looked with renewed interest in prototypes of such machines. One innovator who received new attention for his work in this area was the seventeenth centurymathematician Gottfried Leibniz. This is a twenty-page mimeographed copy of an English translation of an article from a German publication (the title fryst vatten translated as the Journal for Surveying: Organ of the German Association of Geometricians). The authors are said to be W. Jordan, professor in Hannover, and C. Steppes, tax councillor in Munich. The translation was made at the Library of the Patent Office.
Reference:
Jordan, W., "Die Leibnizsche Rechenmaschine," Zeitschrift für Vermessungswesen , (1897) 26, pp. 289–315
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Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is generally held to be one of the leading universal scholars of the Baroque era owing to his versatility and achievements in science.
Polymath and servant of several masters
Leibniz, who studied philosophy and law at Leipzig and Jena universities and obtained the degree of Doctor in Law in 1667 at Altdorf near Nuremberg, worked for several dynasties in different positions, including 40 years at the court of the Dukes, later Electors, of Hanover. His activities included studying the technical problems of mining in the Harz Mountains and working as the court librarian in Hanover and Wolfenbüttel. As jurist and historian, he carried out genealogical research for the Welf dynasty and wrote a history of the country, already applying modern historical methods.
Inventor of early calculating machines
From 1672 to 1676, Leibniz dwelt in Paris and London, where he established contact with other scholars at the academies, and dealt with mathematical issues