Quick Facts
Biography
Martin Wiberg (September 4, 1826 – December 29, 1905) was born in Viby, Scania, Sweden, enrolled at Lund University in 1845 and became a Doctor of Philosophy in 1850.
He is known as a computer pioneer for his 1875 invention of a machine the size of a sewing machine that could print logarithmic tables. The tables were subsequently published in English, French and German. The device was investigated by the French academy of science which also wrote an extensive report on it. The device was inspired by the similar work done by Per Georg Scheutz and has similarities with Charles Babbage's difference engine. (Scheutz machine was based on the difference engine.) The device is preserved at Tekniska museet (The Technical Museum) of Sweden in Stockholm. Wiberg failed to sell his machine, and also failed to sell the output tables due to their bad looks.
Apart from this invention, Wiberg invented numerous other devices and gadgets, among these a cream separator and a pulse jet engine. None of these were commercially successful.