The story of Ada Lovelace: the British mathematician credited to be the world's first computer programmer
Science and technology have always considered to be male-dominated. As the human race advanced, these fields gradually opened up and are now at a fairly democratised position, however, with certain exceptions. History often tends to overlook the contribution of women towards STEM, and hence, very little is known and documented about them. Here is the story of Ada Lovelace, the daughter of the famous poet Lord Byron, who is known to be the first ever computer programmer in history.
Who was Ada Lovelace?
Formerly known as Augusta Ada King, Ada was the Countess of Lovelace, and the daughter of the renowned Romantic poet, Lord Byron. Her mother was Lady Anne Isabella Noel Byron, the 11th Baroness of Wentworth. Evidently, she had a lavish upbringing as a result of her family’s wealth. But, she did have her own struggles during her childhood. Her father sent her away with her mother when little Ada was only a few weeks old, and did not play a significant role in her upbringing as he had hoped for a son instead of a daughter. She was mostly brought up by her maternal grandmother, Lady Milbanke in the English countryside.
How did Ada develop an interest in mathematics and computers?
Although Ada’s mother was largely absent in her life just like her father, she was insistent on her daughter receiving a good education, especially in mathematics. This was because she herself was highly interested in it. She was taught diverse subjects ranging from history and languages to chemistry and maths by the line of personal tutors who were hired for her. One of her tutors, Mary Somerville, introduced 17-year-old Ada to Charles Babbage who was a highly respected mathematician and mechanical engineer, who would later be known for his inventing and engineering of numerous mathematical engines. The two gradually developed a friendship which was rooted in their love for numbers. In fact, Babbage encouraged her to pursue the subject even further and helped her in doing so. Very soon, Ada become highly competent in it and gained recognition around the country as well.
How did Ada manage to write the very first computer programme?
Between 1842 and 1843, Ada worked on translating Italian mathematician, Luigi Menabrea’s article on Babbage’s proposed machine, the Analytical Engine. While doing so, she came up with a set of unique notes about the machine. In fact, the word count of the notes was three times more than that of the article. Specifically, in her ‘Note G’, she explained in complete detail a method for calculating a sequence of Bernoulli numbers using Babbage’s Analytical Engine. Many believe that it would have run successfully had the machine ever been built. Based on this unprecedented attempt, Ada is now considered by many to be the world’s first every programmer. However, there are sceptics who argue that these writings were not enough to be considered as computer programmes.