Profile of the Day: Ada Lovelace

Ada Lovelace

Two hundred years ago today, pioneering mathematician Ada Lovelace was born in London, England.

Augusta Ada Byron was born on December 10, 1815. She was the only legitimate child of the famous poet Lord George Gordon Byron, who left his wife and child shortly after Ada was born.

Ada showed an apt for mathematics at an early age. Despite being outside the norm for women at the time, her mother encouraged her education in science and math, believing it would keep Ada from developing her father’s volatile temperament.

In 1833, Ada met mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage, with whom she would develop a lifelong friendship. Babbage invented the Difference Engine, a device used for complex mathematical calculations. While helping to translate an article on Babbage’s Analytical Engine, Ada appended the article with her own notes and ideas. In the end, her notes were three times longer than the original article, and within her notes contained what many consider to be the world’s first computer program. Because of this, she is often regarded as the world’s first computer programmer.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons