Policarpo de Balzola: The Piano-Playing Inventor Who Created an Early Calculating Machine
In the mid-1800s, a Spanish mathematician named Policarpo de Balzola invented a fascinating calculating device – one that resembled a piano both visually and mechanically. De Balzola came from humble beginnings but possessed an impressive aptitude for math, science, and inventing. His Arithmetic Keyboard machine demonstrated remarkable innovation for computing technology of the era. Though lost to history, it represented an important early step in mechanical calculation.
Policarpo de Balzola: Early Life and Education
De Balzola was born in 1813 in Irun, Spain to a family of modest means. His father worked as a parish church organist and his mother sold cloth. From an early age, de Balzola displayed exceptional skill in mathematics and geometry. He received only an elementary education in his hometown but further supplemented this with lessons in trigonometry and drawing from a visiting military engineer.
As a young man, de Balzola worked in numerous jobs around Irun. He trained as an expert surveyor from 1836-1838. He also served as Secretary for the City Council in 1837 and later became Irun‘s Public Notary in 1843.
In his spare time, de Balzola pursued his passion for innovation. By 1847, he had invented an arithmetic calculating device so impressive it earned him accolades at the Spanish Royal Court. However, this was only the first of many forward-thinking contraptions concoted by de Balzola. He also patented devices for perpetual calendars, surface measurement, scoring mechanisms and even one that harnessed astrology to track zodiac signs.
The Teclado Aritmético: A Calculating Piano
De Balzola‘s most famous invention was dubbed the Teclado Aritmético, or Arithmetic Keyboard. This mechanical calculator comprised rows of keys, not unlike a piano, which could input numerical digits to perform mathematical computations.
In 1846, de Balzola described his concept in a detailed manuscript. He then constructed a functioning prototype with dimensions of 91 x 61 cm. The keys were laid out similarly to a piano, arranged in groupings that allowed the user to input individual digits from 0 to 9. Each key press engaged internal gear wheels corresponding to the selected digit. Numbers would display via small windows above each key grouping, showing the result on engraved wheels within the machine.
What made the Arithmetic Keyboard truly unique was its physical resemblance to a piano combined with the mechanical technique used for actuating the keys. Pressing a key to represent a digit mimicked the action of playing musical notes on a keyboard. Within the machine‘s wooden case, de Balzola implemented piano-like parts including the keys, gears and springs. In many ways, it operated like a piano but simply produced computations rather than sounds.
The prototype calculator created quite a stir when unveiled in 1847. It was first presented at the Spanish Royal Court, where it garnered much acclaim for its innovative design. The Spanish Academy of Sciences also featured the device, with multiple articles praising de Balzola for this achievement in mechanical calculation.
Unfortunately, fate intervened before the inventor could improve his machine further. The prototype was destroyed in a workshop fire, and de Balzola lacked the funds to rebuild it properly. The design itself, however, represented a forward-leaning vision of computing technology and keyboard interfaces. It would be over a decade before the French inventor Thomas de Colmar created the similarly piano-styled Arithmometer in 1864.
Other Inventions of Policarpo de Balzola
Beyond his calculating piano keyboard, de Balzola patented a wide variety of other contraptions throughout this career:
A perpetual calendar device able to track dates and days of the week years in advance.
An instrument for measuring irregular and inconsistent surface areas by quickly slicing them into tiny uniform sections.
A mechanism for keeping score during card games, featuring numbered dials similar to the Arithmetic Keyboard.
A machine integrating knowledge of zodiac signs and tidal movements to produce custom horoscopes and predictions.
In 1852 he even began distributing pamphlets describing theoretical designs for many additional prospective inventions. Had his workshop not burnt down, he may have revolutionized 19th century gadgetry even further.
The Legacy of Policarpo de Balzola
For a man lacking advanced education, Policarpo de Balzola exhibited prodigious skills as an inventor and mathematician. The range of devices he conceived, before the age of mass production, remains impressive even today. Few details of his personal life are known, but his thirst for innovation left a mark in the historical record.
De Balzola‘s arithmetic calculating piano machine clearly demonstrated early thinking about mechanical computation and user interfaces. The very idea of encoding piano-like number entry into a calculator was decidedly ahead of its time. Tragically, his premature death in 1879, aged just 66 years old, may have deprived the world of even more visionary inventions.
Yet while never acclaimed in his own lifetime, de Balzola stands today as an early pioneer in computing. His fusion of calculation power with a keyboard and piano assembly blazed multiple trails in Spain and abroad. It embodied nascent seed ideas that would eventually evolve into modern computers and ubiquitous musical keyboard interfaces. For that prescient spark of genius, Policarpo de Balzola deserves recognition as one of history’s great inventors.
