Lesson 7: The First Computer Programmer

Ada was the daughter of the famous poet Lord George Byron and his wife Lady Anne Byron. She was born in England on 10 December, 1815. The majority of rich women in the 1800s did not pursue studies in mathematics or science, but Ada’s mother persisted in having her daughter tutored in mathematics and science.

Ada thrived at mathematics and science. She met mathematician and innovator Charles Babbage at a party when she was 17 years old and was captivated by his Difference Engine, an early version of the calculator. Babbage quickly became her tutor. Ada passed away on 10 November, 1852, over a century before her notes were found. The United States Department of Defence named the computer language "Ada" in her honour in 1979.

Although Ada Lovelace theorized about a computer that had never been built, the analytical engine, she understood that such a computer could execute a complicated computation by following a set of basic instructions, or a program. Ada envisioned that the analytical engine might use patterns or codes to generate letters as well as compute numbers. This is a basic introduction to computer programming.