Joseph Marie Jacquard
Joseph Marie Jacquard
Joseph Marie Charles dit Jacquard was a French weaver and merchant. He played an important role in the development of the earliest programmable loom, which in turn played an important role in the development of other programmable machines, such as an early version of digital compiler used by IBM to develop the modern day computer.
"The machine that I created is simple, costs virtually nothing to maintain, and only requires being kept clean, protected from rust and dust. … This is not all: the fabric is created with speed and perfection, the designs go with the warp of the thread, and the outlines are imperceptible and blended, like in painting."
"The portrait of Jacquard was, in fact, a sheet of woven silk, framed and glazed, but looking so perfectly like an engraving, that it has been mistaken for such by two members of the Royal Academy."
"Jacquard was a man who was most at home among workmen. He was always happiest in their company, and to know him as he really was one had to see him in his ordinary clothes in a weavers studio, giving the weavers instruction on how to make best use of his loom."
