History of Computers and Computing, Calculating tools, Gadgets, Samuel Comfort

Key Points:

  • Samuel Comfort was a prominent and prolific inventor who received 12 patents by the age of 24 and numerous others.Comfort served in the Union Army during the Civil War and earned the rank of Major.After founding the firm of Cornell and Comfort in Newton, Pennsylvania, Comfort invented a counting machine in 1866.

Samuel Comfort (1837-1923) of Morrisville, Pennsylvania, (see biography of Samuel Comfort) attained considerable distinction as an inventor of improvements in mowing and reaping machines, sewing machines, etc., for which he received numerous patents (by age 24 Comfort held over 12 patents in the USA, and Great Britain. Among those patents were US14445 from 1856 for a mower, US16507 from 1856 and US18437 from 1857 for a harvester rake, and US16968 from 1857 for a harvester cutter).

After serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, Major Comfort established himself as a manufacturer of agricultural machinery in Newtown, Pennsylvania, founding the firm of Cornell & Comfort. It was during that period that he invented a counting machine – US patent 52681 from 1866 -which we will discuss in depth below.

The operation of the Comfort’s counting-machine is as follows (see the lower patent drawing):When the crank is in the position shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 the bar engages in one of the notches, or k’, in each of the numbering-wheels , holding them all firmly to prevent their being turned upon their centers so as to alter the arrangement of the figures exhibited at the aperture in the face-plate. At the same time the bar , which is secured to the frame , is detached from the numbering-wheels and is free to move with the said frame without communicating any motion to the said wheels.

The patent drawing of Samuel Comfort’s counting-machine

Up Next…

  • Mark Twain & Computing: Did you know that Mark Twain came up with an information sharing network in a short story written in 1904? Discover the telectrophonoscope!Judah Levin Adding Machine Explained — Everything You Need To Know: Levin designed a compact adding machine that only used 10 keys. Read all about it here!Victor Adding Machine – History of the Victor Adding Machine Co.: From the first Victor Adding Machine to Sharp calculators – learn the fascinating history of the Victor Adding Machine Co.