Mechanical Calculators
 | Antikythera mechanism | |
| Type | analogous mechanical calculator, manual handling | |
| Year | between 3rd and 1st century BC | |
| Builder | unknown | |
| Location | Ancient Greece (possibly Rhodes?) | |
| Functionality | position of sun and moon in the zodiac, moon phases, calendaric calculations (Greek, Egyptian), prediction of lunar and solar eclipses, perhaps a geocentric planetarium (hypothetical) | |
| Speciality | oldest known mechanical calculator | |
| Weblinks | The Antikythera mechanism, Antikythera mechanism (Wikipedia) | |
| Videos |
overview about functionality and usage,
eclipse predictions,
calculation of the lunar orbit in the Antikythera mechanism | |
 | Schickard calculator | |
| Type | digital mechanical calculator, manual handling | |
| Year | 1623 | |
| Builder | Wilhelm Schickard, mechanic: Johann Pfister | |
| Location | Tübingen, Württemberg | |
| Functionality | addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, extracting the square root | |
| Speciality | first digital mechanical calculator | |
| Weblinks | ★The Schickard Calculator from 1623 | |
| Videos |
addition and subtraction,
multiplication,
division,
calculation of lunar orbits per solar year, Wilhelm Schickard - inventor of the first mechanical calculator | |
 | Pascaline | |
| Type | digital mechanical calculator, manual handling | |
| Year | 1642 | |
| Builder | Blaise Pascal | |
| Location | Rouen, Normandy, France | |
| Functionality | addition, subtraction | |
| Speciality | oldest still existing digital mechanical calculator | |
| Weblinks | Pascal's calculator (Wikipedia) | |
| Videos | How the Pascaline Works | |
 | Leibniz calculator | |
| Type | Leibniz wheel calculator (Stepped reckoner) | |
| Year | 1673 (Leibniz wheel) / 1694 (calculator) | |
| Builder | Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz | |
| Location | Paris, Hanover, London | |
| Functionality | addition, subtraction, multiplication, division | |
| Speciality | First Leibniz wheel calculator. This technology was used for almost three centuries for mechanical calculators. | |
| Weblinks | - | |
| Videos | - | |
 | Poleni calculator (prototype) | |
| Type | pinwheel calculator | |
| Year | 1709 | |
| Builder | Giovanni Poleni | |
| Location | Padua | |
| Functionality | - | |
| Speciality | not working prototype, destroyed by Poleni himself | |
| Weblinks | - | |
| Videos | - | |
 | calculator of Anton Braun | |
| Type | pinwheel calculator | |
| Year | 1727 | |
| Builder | Anton Braun (German Wikipedia) | |
| Location | Vienna, Austria | |
| Functionality | - | |
| Speciality | first faultlessly functioning pinwheel calculator, most likely inspired by Poleni's design | |
| Weblinks | - | |
| Videos | - | |
 | calculator of Philipp Matthäus Hahn | |
| Type | Leibniz wheel calculator | |
| Year | 1770 - 1773 | |
| Builder | Philipp Matthäus Hahn | |
| Location | Kornwestheim, Württemberg | |
| Functionality | addition, subtraction, multiplication, division | |
| Speciality | first faultlessly functioning Leibniz wheel calculator | |
| Weblinks | - | |
| Videos | - | |
 | calculator of Johann Helfrich Müller | |
| Type | Leibniz wheel calculator | |
| Year | 1782 - 1784 | |
| Builder | Johann Helfrich (von) Müller | |
| Location | Göttingen / Darmstadt | |
| Functionality | addition, subtraction, multiplication, division | |
| Speciality | some improvements compared to Hahn's calculator | |
| Weblinks | - | |
| Videos | - | |
 | Arithmomètre | |
| Type | Leibniz wheel calculator with movable result accumulator for long multiplications | |
| Year | patented 1820, serial production from 1851 until 1915 | |
| Builder | 1820 - 1870 Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar 1870 - 1887 Thomas de Colmar's son and grandson 1887 - 1902 Louis Payen 1902 - 1915 Louis Payen's widow 1915 Alphonse Darras | |
| Location | Colmar | |
| Functionality | addition, subtraction, multiplication, division | |
| Speciality | first commercially successful industrially manufactured mechanical calculator | |
| Weblinks | Arithmometer | |
| Videos | How the Arithmometer Works | |
 | Odhner arithmometer | |
| Type | pinwheel calculator | |
| Year | 1875 - 1970 | |
| Builder | Willgodt Theophil Odhner | |
| Location | 1875 - 1918 St. Petersburg, Russia 1918 - 1970 Göteborg, Sweden | |
| Functionality | addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, extracting the square and cubic root | |
| Speciality | - | |
| Weblinks | ★US Patent No. 209,416 – Improvement in Calculating Machines (October 1878)
★Calculating with Mechanical Calculators | |
| Videos | How the Original Odhner pinwheel calculator works, Multiplication | |
 | Burkhardt arithmometer | |
| Type | Leibniz wheel calculator | |
| Year | since 1885 | |
| Builder | Arthur Burkhardt (German Wikipedia) | |
| Location | Glashütte, Saxony | |
| Functionality | addition, subtraction, multiplication, division | |
| Speciality | derived from the Thomas arithmometer, first German mechanical calculator in serial production | |
| Weblinks | - | |
| Videos | - | |
 | Comptometer | |
| Type | mechanische Rechenmaschine mit Tastatureingabe | |
| Year | ab 1887 | |
| Builder | Dorr E. Felt | |
| Location | Chicago | |
| Functionality | primarily addition and subtraction, multiplication and division also possible | |
| Speciality | The Comptometer was the first commercially successful key-driven mechanical calculator, patented in the United States. | |
| Weblinks | Comptometer | |
| Videos | How the Comptometer Works | |
 | Brunsviga | |
| Type | pinwheel calculator | |
| Year | 1892 - 1969 | |
| Builder | Brunsviga Maschinenwerke | |
| Location | Brunswick, Germany | |
| Functionality | addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, extracting the square and cubic root | |
| Speciality | Since 1892 the Odhner arithmometer was manufactured under licence in Brunswick under the brand name Brunsviga. The calculators later were further developed independently. More than 500,000 Brunsviga calculators were manufactured. | |
| Weblinks | - | |
| Videos | Brunsviga B – Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Square Root How Math Works: Inside a Brunsviga | |
 | Curta I / Curta II | |
| Type | handheld mechanical calculator with Leibniz wheel | |
| Year | 1947 until 1970 | |
| Builder | Curt Herzstark | |
| Location | Liechtenstein | |
| Functionality | addition, subtraction, multiplication, division | |
| Speciality | last generation of mechanical calculators at the top of that technology before they were replaced by electronic devices | |
| Weblinks | The CURTA Calculator Page, Curta (Wikipedia) | |
| Videos | CURTA Mechanical Calculator Demonstration (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), CURTA Calculator Assembly (German) | |