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Pioneering British mathematician and mechanical engineer (1791-1871) whose Difference Engine and Analytical Engine are generally acknowledged as the first programmable computers. ALS signed “C. Babbage,” one page, 7 x 8.75, June 25, 1820. Handwritten letter to a gentleman, in part: "We are in want of a motto for our medal. What is your opinion of the following one, 'Aerias penetrasse danos.' It seems rather appropriate for an instrument which possessed an enormous space penetrating power. I was sitting…yesterday with Sir W. Herschel conversing about the objects of the Astron. Soc. when he suggested the idea of offering a medal for the discovery of comets. Perhaps when we are more numerous we may have a separate Comet medal." In fine condition.
Babbage was instrumental in establishing the Royal Astronomical Society in 1820, which sought to support astronomical research by standardizing astronomical calculations and circulating data amongst researchers. These directions were closely connected with Babbage's ideas on computation, and in 1824 he won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, cited 'for his invention of an engine for calculating mathematical and astronomical tables.' That medal bore the Society's motto, 'Quicquid nitet notandum,' which translates to 'Whatever shines should be observed.'
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