Ada Lovelace (originally Augusta Ada Byron) was born on December 10, 1815 in London England. She is distinguished as the first computer programmer.
Her parents were the famous poet Lord Byron and Annabella Milbanke Byron. However, her parents split soon after her birth. Lord Byron left the country, and Ada never got to know her father.
Ada was taught by tutors, but also did a great deal of self educating. A mathematician-logician and mathematics professor at the University of London, Augustus De Morgan, helped her in her advanced studies.
In 1835, she married William King. He became earl in 1838 and she became the countess of Lovelace.
In 1843, she translated a document for her mentor Charles Babbage. While translating, she added her own writing. Her notes ended up being three times the length of the original article! Her writing gave instructions for a machine called the Analytical Engine (pictured below) to handle not only numbers, but also letters and symbols. It also included a method for the machine to repeatedly follow instructions. This is also known as a “loop” which we still use in computer programs today! The early programming language Ada is named after her, and we celebrate her on the second Tuesday in October.
Her parents were the famous poet Lord Byron and Annabella Milbanke Byron. However, her parents split soon after her birth. Lord Byron left the country, and Ada never got to know her father.
Ada was taught by tutors, but also did a great deal of self educating. A mathematician-logician and mathematics professor at the University of London, Augustus De Morgan, helped her in her advanced studies.
In 1835, she married William King. He became earl in 1838 and she became the countess of Lovelace.
In 1843, she translated a document for her mentor Charles Babbage. While translating, she added her own writing. Her notes ended up being three times the length of the original article! Her writing gave instructions for a machine called the Analytical Engine (pictured below) to handle not only numbers, but also letters and symbols. It also included a method for the machine to repeatedly follow instructions. This is also known as a “loop” which we still use in computer programs today! The early programming language Ada is named after her, and we celebrate her on the second Tuesday in October.
