Babbage's Difference Engine No 2, 1991.

Detail of the rear with a carriage mechanism that is repeated 210 times. British computing pioneer Charles Babbage (1791-1871) designed Difference Engine No 2 between 1847 and 1849, as part of his attempt to mechanise the production of mathematical tables. Like his other engines, Difference Engine No 2 was never constructed in Babbage's lifetime. Factors cited include his allegedly difficult personality, unconvincing progres, disputes with his engineer, Joseph Clement, political instability, the eventual withdrawal of government funding, and limitations in Victorian machine tool technology. The Science Museum began construction of Difference Engine No 2 in 1985, and the calculating section was completed in 1991 for the bicentennial of Babbage's birth.