The first computer, the Analytical Engine, was designed by Charles Babbage in the mid-19th century. Babbage, an English mathematician and inventor, is considered the “father of the computer” because he conceptualized many of the key features of modern computers, including the use of a central processing unit, memory, and input/output devices.

However, the Analytical Engine was never actually built during Babbage’s lifetime. It was only after his death that his ideas were further developed and refined by others, leading to the creation of the first electronic computers in the mid-20th century.

Some of the key figures in the development of the first electronic computers include John Atanasoff, who built the first electronic computer prototype in 1937; John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, who developed the first general-purpose electronic computer, the ENIAC, in 1945; and Alan Turing, who designed the first stored-program computer, the ACE, in 1949.