In my last blog post for Women's History Month, I started off with Lady Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace, Enchantress of Numbers. In this post, I'll be delving further into Ada's history, and will discuss how her accomplishments have impacted the world of computing, and the world in general. This post isn't complete, I need to add links and images.
Ada, the Early Years
Ada was born in 1815, to mother Anne Milbank, and Lord Byron, the famous English poet. Ada had no relationship with her father, who separated from Ada and her mother only a few months after Ada's birth. Lord Byron died when Ada was only 9
Ada's mother wanted Ada to avoid poetry, afraid Ada might pick up on some of her father's alleged madness, and guided Ada into mathematics and Science. Sickly as a child, Ada had much time to focus on her studies in mathematics, tutored by another noted early female scientist and polymath, Mary Somerville, among others, including famous logician, Augustus De Morgan, of De Morgan's law, who saw Ada as a skilled mathematician, a domain of knowledge rarely acknowledged as suitable for women.
Ada meets Charles Babbage
Mary Somerville introduced 18 year old Ada to Charles Babbage in 1833, and by 1834, Babbage was referring to Ada as the "Enchantress of Numbers" due to her astounding understanding and knowledge of mathematics, and her tremendous writing skills. He wrote of her:
"Forget this world and all its troubles and if
possible its multitudinous Charlatans – every thing
in short but the Enchantress of Numbers."
Ada spent nine months translating Italian mathematician Luigi Menabrea's writing regarding Charles Babbage's proposed calculating machine, the Analytical engine, and then proceded to append her own set of original notes, including the precise instructions for producing the Bernoulli sequence using said machine. Ada's notes are widely regarded as the first computer program ever written. Had the machine actually been built, it is now agreed the computer program would have worked exactly as intended.
Ada's influence
Ada is credited with being the first computer programmer. As such her history is of great importance to modern programmers, as well has those working towards raising the profile of women in math, science, and technology. In modern times, Ada has been the lead character in a number of books, a film, a web comic, she has her own day, is now a character in an educational video game, and will be played by Zooey Deschanel (New Girl) in an upcoming film on her life.
Ada's life was much more grand and influential than I can explain in this simple blog. For more information on Ada and her life, check out the following resources:
I'll be adding resources soon.
http://gizmodo.com/5520528/zooey-deschanel-to-hopefully-play-computer-programmer-ada-lovelace
