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Babbage
British mathematician and inventor. Educated at Cambridge Univ., he devoted himself from c.1812 to devising machines capable of calculating mathematical tables. His first small calculator could perform certain computations to eight decimals. In 1823 he obtained government support for the design of a projected machine with a 20-decimal capacity. In the 1830s he developed plans for the so-called analytical engine, capable of performing any arithmetical operation on the basis of instructions from punched cards, a memory unit in which to store numbers, sequential control, and most of the other basic elements of the present-day computer. The forerunner of the modern digital computer, the analytical engine was never completed. In 1991 British scientists built Difference Engine No. 2 (accurate to 31 digits) to Babbage's specifications. His other contributions included establishing the modern postal system in England, compiling the first reliable actuarial tables, and inventing the locomotive cowcatcher.


Abbe
U.S. meteorologist. Born in New York City, he was trained as an astronomer and appointed director of the Cincinnati Observatory in 1868. His interest turned to meteorology, and he inaugurated a public weather service that served as a model for the national weather service, which was organized shortly thereafter as a branch of the (U.S. Army) Signal Service. In 1871 he was appointed chief meteorologist of the branch, which in 1891 was reorganized under civilian control as the U.S. Weather Bureau (later the National Weather Service), and he served in that capacity more than 45 years.


abbey
Complex of buildings housing a monastery or convent under the direction of an abbot or abbess, serving the needs of a self-contained religious community. The first abbey was Monte Cassino in Italy, founded in 529 by St. Benedict of Nursia. The cloister linked the most important elements of an abbey together. The dormitory was often built over the dining hall on the E side of the cloister and linked to the central church. The W side of the cloister provided for public dealings, with the gatehouse controlling the only opening to the outer, public courtyard. On the S side of the cloister were a central kitchen, brewery, and workshops. The novitiate and infirmary were housed in a building with its own chapel, bathhouse, dining hall, kitchen, and garden. In the 12th-13th cent., many abbeys were built throughout Europe, especially in France.


Bab
Iranian religious leader, founder of the Babi religion and one of the central figures of Baha'i. The son of a merchant, he was influenced by the Shaykhi school of Shiite Islam. In 1844 he wrote a commentary on the sura of Joseph in the Quran and declared himself the Bab (Arabic: "gateway") to the hidden imam. Later he would claim to be the imam himself, and finally a divine manifestation. The same year he assembled 18 disciples, who spread the new ...

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