Meccano Differential Analyser - Dr Maurice Wilkes (Right)

Differential analysers are thought to be one of the first advanced computing devices to be used operationally. The Meccano differential analyser, built at Manchester University in 1934, was actually constructed using an extensive selection of Meccano parts, taken from a children’s model construction kit launched at the end of the 19th century. Whilst the use of Meccano parts reduced the cost of construction, it did not compromise the machines’ accuracy in solving a plethora of scientific problems. The Meccano differential analyser was also used at the Cambridge University Mathematics Laboratory where it was at one point supervised by Maurice Wilkes. Wilkes went on to invent EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) in 1949, the world’s first practical general purpose stored program electronic computer.