Yes, it is true. The world’s first computer programmer was a woman named Ada Lovelace. Born in Britain on December 10, 1815, she was introduced to the concept of the calculating machines developed by Charles Babbage when she was 17. It was in 1842 that she became thoroughly involved in what we call today computer programming.
Read to know more about one of the smartest lady to have lived on this planet.
1. World’s First Algorithm
Ada Lovelace translated an intricate research paper memoir Sketch of The Analytical Engine Invented By Charles Babbage from French to English, describing Analytical Engine concept of Charles Babbage. However, she not only translated the memoir by L.F. Menabrea but, also added her own perception and explained ingenious ideas for performing calculations through machines.
Those notes are today considered as the world’s first algorithm.
2. Enchantress of Numbers
Ada was a mathematical genius (inherited from her mother) and Charles Babbage himself honored her by giving her the name Enchantress of Numbers.
3. A Dream To Fly High
At the age of 12 years, Ada Lovelace examined birds and then scrutinized materials that could be used as artificial wings! She started writing her research guide of flying when she was merely 13, and named it ‘Flyology’. She was stopped by her mother as she was neglecting her studies.
Well, with her genius who knows, if she had continued she could beat the Wright Brothers to be the face of modern aviation.
4. Analytical Engine Enthusiast
She was so sure of the potential of the Analytical Engine, that she never ran out of praises of the machine and even confronted people with a non-mathematical background to help them understand.
5. A Future With Artificial Intelligence
A brilliant mathematician and a keen supporter of Analytical Engine, she was highly apprehensive about the machine’s ability to “originate anything”. She quoted Analytical Engine can follow analysis, but it has no power of anticipating any analytical revelations or truths. Its province is to assist us in making available what we are already acquainted with.
Nonetheless, she envisioned something as big as artificial intelligence, but only to deny its occurrence.
6. Mathematical Model For Gambling
Lovelace and her friends developed a fetish for gambling and repeatedly tried to create a probabilistic model to beat the odds. Inspite of all the efforts, she could never win and got under huge debt.
7. Computing Bernoulli Numbers
Ada wrote an algorithm that would make the machine compute Bernoulli numbers. It was a major achievement in the field of primitive computing. Though the program was never tested, since the Babbage could not complete his engine.
8. Music via Machines
Ada wrote a letter to her mother telling that she was trying to formulate a bridge between machine and music. She was certain that Analytical Engine could someday be used to compose music.
9. Poetical Science
Ada was born to the renowned English poet Lord Bryon and she inherited the philosophical science from him as she did maths from her mother. She termed her way of thinking as ‘Poetical science’ through which she described mathematics using flowery metaphors and imagination.
Nice fusion, we must say.
10. Untimely Death
Ada Lovelace died at a young age of 36 due to uterine cancer. She was buried next to her famous father, Lord Bryon.
Do you find the article interesting? Which genius mind would you like to know about next? Tell us in comments below.
