Like many an invention, he was standing on the shoulders of others

Basile Bouchon (1725) created one of the earliest automated looms using perforated paper tape to control the weaving pattern.

Jean-Baptiste Falcon (1728) improved on Bouchon's design by using chains of punched cards instead of continuous paper tape, making the system more durable and easier to handle.

Jacques Vaucanson (1745) further refined the concept with his own punch card loom design.

Jacquard's breakthrough came in 1804-1805 when he synthesized and perfected these earlier innovations into what became known as the Jacquard loom. His version was more reliable, easier to operate, and became widely adopted - which is why his name became so strongly associated with the technology.

There are examples of these in the London Science Museum. I strongly recommend a visit - and not just for those: there's also a (working) full-scale replica of Babbage's difference engine; the entire early history of steam engines (the genuine articles); a duplicating lathe, from the early 19th century; models of the entire history of the (British, at least) tractor; an entire analogue telephone exchange; and way, way, way more. It's a geek's delight. One of my favorite museums ever, but be warned: it took me more than a week's worth of visits to feel like I'd seen it thoroughly.

Thanks, I learned something today. If Wikipedia is to be believed:

> He played an important role in the development of the earliest programmable loom (the "Jacquard 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.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Marie_Jacquard

"Punched cards" tickles me, like "cheesed burger".

Some would be wrong. While the use of punch cards was significant, I struggle to see jacquard looms doing computation in any meaningful sense.