Ada Lovelace - The World's First Computer Programmer

Ada Lovelace is considered by many to be the world’s first computer programmer. Born in 1815, she was the daughter of famed poet Lord Byron. Unfortunately, Lord Byron’s marriage to Ada’s mother was not a happy one and Lady Byron separated from her husband only weeks after their daughter was born. A few months later, Lord Byron left England and Ada never saw her father again. She had an unusual upbringing for an aristocratic girl. At her mother’s insistence, tutors taught her mathematics and science, subjects which were not standard fare for women at the time, but her mother believed that engaging in rigorous studies would prevent her daughter from developing her father’s moody and unpredictable temperament. Around the age of 17, Ada met Charles Babbage – a mathematician and inventor. The pair became friends, and the much older Babbage served as a mentor to her. Ada was fascinated by Babbage’s ideas. Babbage invented the difference engine, which was meant to perform mathematical calculations and Ada got a chance to look at the machine before it was finished. She was captivated by it. Babbage also created plans for another device known as the analytical engine, designed to handle more complex calculations and Ada was later asked to translate an article on Babbage’s analytical engine for a Swiss journal. She not only translated the original French text into English but also added her own thoughts and ideas on the machine. These notes ended up being three times longer than...