Government funding of scientific research has a long and fruitful history. The computer revolution was built by the combined efforts of industry, universities, and governments. One of history's first government research and development grants, excluding support for geographic exploration, was given to Charles Babbage (1791–1871), the father of modern computing, in England, in 1823. Babbage was granted an initial sum of 1,500 pounds by the British government to fund the development of his Difference Engine and later given additional monies.

Some ten years later, Babbage turned his attention to designing a new machine, which he called the Analytical Engine. The Analytical Engine had some innovative features including stored memory, algorithms, and the use of punched cards. Babbage had some help in describing the machine and in writing programs for it from Ada Byron King, the Countess of Lovelace (1815–1852). Many people consider her the first computer programmer. Although...