Tech trio in line for 'Greatest Briton' award

The father of computing, the founder of computer science and the inventor of the World Wide Web all rank among the hundred greatest ever Britons, according to the UK public.

Charles Babbage, Alan Turing and Tim Berners Lee have all been shortlisted by a nationwide survey, conducted by the BBC, to find the greatest ever Briton. Over 30,000 people took part in the poll, and the overall winner will be chosen by the public in a further vote later this year.

The BBC revealed the names of the 100 individuals who had attracted the most votes on Wednesday.

A total of 20 scientists and inventors are included - more than for any other category. Babbage, Turing and Berners Lee rub shoulders with the likes of Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, James Watt and Stephen Hawking.

Other individuals included in the top 100 include Shakespeare, Winston Churchill, Horatio Nelson and Queen Elizabeth I.

To read more about Charles Babbage: "The Father of Computing", click here http://www.silicon.com/a55241

To read more about Alan Turing, founding computer scientist, click here http://www.silicon.com/a55242

To read more about Tim Berners Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, click here http://www.silicon.com/a55243

Graeme Wearden writes for ZDnet.co.uk