Charles Babbage was born in London on 26th September 1791, not in Alphington or Teignmouth as many biographical dictionaries suggest. His father, Benjamin Babbage, was a banking partner of the Praeds who owned the Bitton Estate in Teignmouth. In 1808 the Babbage family moved into the old Rowdens house in East Teignmouth, and his father became a warden of the nearby St. Michael’s Church.
Although Charles Babbage had attended school in Alphington and Totnes, we
know that he was married to Georgiana Whitmore in St. Michael’s Church in July
1814. He recalls many of his youthful activities in Teignmouth in his
recollections ‘Passages from the Life of a Philosopher’.
The year 1827 was a tragic one for Charles Babbage. He lost not only his wife
and a son but his father. Benjamin Babbage, then aged 74, died in the second
home he owned in East Teignmouth. He was buried in St. Michael’s Church on the
13th February, according to his wishes “in a private a manner as possible and
with as little expense as may be consistent with decency”.
