Encoding logical statement into numbers is foundational, but I do see your point. I don't know of any evidence that says that Gödel was interested in automatin

Encoding logical statement into numbers is foundational, but I do see your point. I don't know of any evidence that says that Gödel was interested in automating computation through his encoding. That being said, I view Gödel's addition to be so mind-blowing that I can't help but privately think of him as the founder.