Joseph-Marie Jacquard, born in Lyons, France in 1752, was born into a family of weavers. The weaving profession at that time was a long and tedious process, often taking long periods of time to produce the fine woven fabrics. When his parents passed away, Joseph inherited the family weaving business. He set up a silk factory, which was unsuccessful because he spent his time trying to improve the process in use. The amount of time that …showed first 75 words of 812 total…

…showed last 75 words of 812 total…c.: New York, 1994. Decker, Rick and Stuart Hirshfield. The Analytical Engine: An Introduction to Computer Science Using the Internet. PWS Publishing Company: Boston, 1998. "From Abacus to IBM." 7 January 2001. http://www.uncwil.edu/Ed/INSTRUCT/comphist.htm (Source of pictures) Shasha, Dennis and Cathy Lazere. Out of Their Minds: The Lives and Discoveries of 15 Great Computer Scientists. Copernicus: New York, 1995. "Woven Coverlet." National Gallery of Art. 7 January 2001. http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/iadtxtl/iadtxtl-14854.0.html