Ada Lovelace, Mathematician & First Computer Programmer

Ada Lovelace was born as Augusta Ada Byron on December 10, 1815. She was the only legitimate child of the famous romantic poet Lord Byron, known for his piece “Don Juan.” However, Byron abandoned her when she was only a few months old and lived out the rest of his life in Greece until his death in 1823.

Despite society deeming maths and sciences unsuitable subjects for a woman, Lovelace was taught them at the insistence of her mother. Her mother was talented with maths and was even called the “princess of parallelograms” by Lord Byron. Lovelace demonstrated a talent for numbers and languages and was advised by Mary Somerville, one of the first women to be admitted to the Royal Astronomical Society.

When Lovelace was 17 years old, she met Charles Babbage at a party, where he talked about his first invention the “Difference Machine,” which was essentially an early calculator. The two became close friends, and he later became her mentor. Babbage connected Lovelace to Augustus de Morgan, a professor at the University of London known as the “father of the computer” who taught her advanced maths. She translated articles about the “Difference Machine” from Italian and French, adding her own thoughts and ideas, which were later published in science journals. Lovelace described how code could be used as letters and symbols and how looping repeats instructions. Looping is an integral part of computer science today and is what earned her the title of “the first computer programmer.”

On November 27, 1852, in London, Lovelace died from uterine cancer at the age of 37 after suffering from cholera, asthma, and digestive problems.

Ada’s contributions to computer science went unnoticed during her lifetime; however, she has received many posthumous honors, including a computer language named Ada by the U.S. Department of Defense. Additionally, the British Computer Society created the Lovelace Medal for women scientists, and Ada Lovelace Day is celebrated on the second Tuesday of October.

by Daisy O’Connor

References

10 Things You May Not Know About Ada Lovelace. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-ada-lovelace

Ada Lovelace. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/scholar/ada-lovelace

Morais, B. (2013). Ada Lovelace, the First Tech Visionary. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/ada-lovelace-the-first-tech-visionary

Ada Lovelace | Biography & Facts. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ada-Lovelace