Babbage was born in Walworth, Surrey in late December 1791. He had three siblings, sadly his two brothers died in early childhood. However, his sister outlived Babbage. His father was Benjamin Babbage and his mother Elizabeth Plumleigh Teape. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge, and graduated in 1814.
He thought of the idea for the engine when he was working on nautical tables, and realised how many errors there were.