Joseph Marie Jacquard (19th Century)

Joseph Marie Charles, nicknamed Jacquard, played an important role in the development of the earliest programmable loom (the “Jacquard loom”), which in turn played an important role in the development of other programmable machines, such as computers.

In the 1800s, Joseph began to dabble in inventing: a treadle loom in 1800, a loom to weave fishing nets in 1803, and starting in 1804, the “Jacquard” loom, which would weave patterned silk automatically. However, none of his inventions operated well and thus were unsuccessful.

In 1801, Jacquard exhibited his invention at the industrial exhibition in Paris; and in 1803 he was summoned to Paris and attached to the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers. A loom by Jacques de Vaucanson on display there suggested various improvements in his own, which he gradually perfected to its final state.

Read more about Joseph Marie Jacquard on Wikipedia.