Babbage

In 1834 Dalton was presented at the court of William IV. Etiquette prescribed that one wear a sword on such occasions, but as a Quaker, Dalton could not do this. The English mathematician Charles Babbage solved the problem by suggesting that Dalton appear in the scarlet robes of an Oxford doctor of law, and Dalton felt quite comfortable about the idea. Normally a Quaker would never wear scarlet but to Dalton s color-blind eyes, scarlet looked just like the Quaker drab he ordinarily wore. And, yes, there is a rather suspect anecdote about this occasion too. When the king asked him, Well, Dr. Dalton. 

How are you getting on in Manchester—all quiet, I suppose Dalton is supposed to have replied, Well, I don t know, just middlin , I think. However, Babbage made no mention of any such conversation in a long letter he wrote about the event, saying only that, Doctor Dalton having kissed hands, the King asked him several questions, all of which the philosopher duly answered, and then moved on in proper order to join me. ... 

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) sponsored the development of Ada and named the language in honor of Augusta Ada Lovelace, daughter of the poet Lord Byron and assistant to Charles Babbage, the inventor of the analytical engine. Use of Ada is mandated by DOD thus, any vendor aspiring to sell to DOD is usually required to have an Ada compiler. This makes Ada applications very portable. However, we are not aware of Ada s use for any widely available chemistry applications. 

Ure was not alone in making an exception of chemical industries. Babbage also maintained this distinction. However, Babbage was interested in the fact that industries in general could benefit from the input of science and, somewhat curiously, used chemistry to make his point, which he meant to be valid for all manufactures. 

C. Babbage, Reflections on the decline of science in England, and on some of its causes, London, 1830. 

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