Died: October 18, 1871
Charles Babbage is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer, the Difference Engine, that eventually led to more complex electronic designs, though all the essential ideas of modern computers are to be found in Babbage's Analytical Engine, programmed using a principle openly borrowed from the Jacquard loom.
Birthplace: London, United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Died: October 1, 2007
Carl-Erik Fröberg belonged to the group of five young Swedish researchers who in 1947 – 1948 were sent to the USA to gather information about early computer development. Fröberg visited the Institute for Advanced Study and John von Neumann's research group. On his return he played a leading role in the creation of SMIL which was one of the first computers in Sweden and was completed in 1956.
Birthplace: Slätthög, Sweden 🇸🇪
Died: October 5, 2011
Steven Paul Jobs was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, business magnate, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a member of The Walt Disney Company's board of directors following its acquisition of Pixar; and the founder, chairman, and CEO of NeXT.
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, USA 🇺🇸
Died: October 5, 1996
Seymour Roger Cray was an American electrical engineer and supercomputer architect who designed a series of computers that were the fastest in the world for decades, and founded Cray Research which built many of these machines. Called "the father of supercomputing", Cray has been credited with creating the supercomputer industry.
Birthplace: Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, USA 🇺🇸
Died: October 12, 2011
Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie was an American computer scientist. He is known for creating the C programming language and, with long-time colleague Ken Thompson, the Unix operating system and B programming language.
Birthplace: Bronxville, New York, USA 🇺🇸
Died: October 15, 2018
Paul Gardner Allen was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975.
Birthplace: Seatle, Washington, USA 🇺🇸
Died: October 28, 1998
Thomas Harold Flowers was an English engineer with the British General Post Office. During World War II, Flowers designed and built Colossus, the world's first programmable electronic computer, to help solve encrypted German messages.
Birthplace: London, United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Born: October 28, 1955
William Henry Gates III is an American business magnate, software developer, investor, author, and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen.
Birthplace: Seatle, Washington, USA 🇺🇸