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Geek Girl History Lesson: Ada Lovelace

Fri, 05/23/2008 - 9:06am by geeksugar
799 Views - 12 comments

I hope you didn't feel discouraged about being a girl geek by that article awhile back that reported women find technology jobs boring. Buck up, you — not only do you have geeksugar here at your service, there are plenty of fabulous precedents for you like Google's Marissa Mayer, Lifehacker founder and coder Gina Trapani, and a 19th-century girl geek: Ada Lovelace.

Born in 1815 in London, Ada Lovelace is known as the first programmer. Taught to love mathematics by her mother from a young age, she would later write what was known as the world's first computer program for Charles Babbage's, "analytical engine" — a general purpose, early computer.

To this day, Lovelace is remembered as the first coder and has received a few tributes: the computer language Ada is named for her, her picture is on Microsoft's holographic authenticity stickers, and The British Computer Society awards a medal to female computer science students in her name.

Thanks for representing, Ada!

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12 Comments Add a Comment

  • ALSW's picture
    ALSW
    1

    Wonder if my husband's heard of her. She sounds amazing!

    25 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • jdots24's picture
    jdots24
    3

    This is great post geek! I always found the most interesting fact about Ada was not just that she was the first computer programmer, but she programmed a computer that wasn't even built yet! It was later after computers were built, people went back and tested her programs and found that they worked!

    25 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • TsuKata's picture
    TsuKata
    4

    She also is credited with inventing the concept of recursion in programming. Smiling

    25 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • kcwebgirl's picture
    kcwebgirl
    6

    thanks for the history lesson. i'm not a programmer so i've never heard of her. how proud i am to get this history lesson!

    25 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • Performita's picture
    Performita
    8

    Let us not forget that her last name was Byron, she was a daughter of Lord Byron, the famous poet.
    She was bled to death at the age of 36 by her physicians, who were trying to cure her uterine cancer
    Sad

    25 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • neko's picture
    neko
    9

    Ada is one of my favorite people in history. She's such an inspiration Smiling

    25 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • Bisque's picture
    Bisque
    10

    I suddenly have an idea on what to name my first child (if that ever comes around) Smiling

    25 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • Lyv's picture
    Lyv
    11

    One time my mom was like "Oh dear you have such talent for math, I wish you'd pick a career that would put that to use". And I was like "But mom... Computer Science IS about math!!" And then I showed her how computer programming dated back to the XIX Century and how the first programmer was a lady and she was absolutely stunned! I think she finally respects my choice now LOL

    25 weeks 5 days ago Report Comment
  • Elfyn's picture
    Elfyn
    12

    The 1997 movie "Conceiving Ada" is about her (sort of). I stumbled upon it a couple of years ago. It isn't the greatest movie, but I enjoyed it and it has always stood out in my memory. Stars Tilda Swinton as Ada Augusta Byron King, Countess of Lovelace.

    25 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment

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