Blaise Pascal began to work on his calculator in 1642, when he was 18 years old. He had been assisting his father, who worked as a tax commissioner, and sought to produce a device which could reduce some of hi… See more

The Pascaline is a direct adding machine (it has no crank), so the value of a number is added to the accumulator as it is being … See more

Pascalines came in both decimal and non-decimal varieties, both of which can be viewed in museums today. They were designed for use by scientists, accountants and surveyors. The simplest Pascaline had five dials; l… See more