Born this day in 1815, Lady Ada Byron Lovelace, daughter of the great poet, Lord Byron and she is also the very first computer programmer! Ada was tutored in math and music because her mother did not want her daughter follow in her famous father's very romantic and poetic footsteps.
At age 13, Ada designed a flying machine.
Ada considered herself, a Metaphysician and Analyst. She is the founder of SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING. While translating Charles Babbage's lectures about the Analyic Engine(these lectures took place at the University of Turin, Italy in 1840- Luigi Menabrea wrote them down and had them published in the Universelle de Geneve in 1842)
In 1842 Ada Byron translated the lectures from French to English. And while doing this Lady Lovelace made "NOTES", her very own ideas and calulations. These NOTES contain the very first ALGORITHM and the structure for the very first computer. Ada wrote out in these much of what a computer could be used for- including music! 110 years ahead of her time. Please, google Ada Byron Lovelace NOTES and read about this awesome woman's vision. Lady Lovelace, the bluestocking,the scientist, the daughter of the poet Lord Byron, wife of Lord Lovelace and the mother of 3. A visionany of how computers-engines would change the future. Modern Science.
And born this day in 1830, the great and wonderous poet, Emily Dickinson! Another visionary that wrote in future ideas. Modern poetry.
Poem 314
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
Hi Bridget. I remembered you telling me about Ada Lovelace over Christmas and that she developed the "first algorithm."
ReplyDeleteThat didn't sound quite right and after reading your post I became interested enough in her to do some research. From Wikipedia - "Her notes on the engine include what is recognized as the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine; as such she is regarded as the world's first computer programmer.[1][2]"
Evidently after hearing about the idea for an "Analytical Machine" and studying the work produced by Babbage (the inventor) she soon became more knowledgeable about the invention than anyone else and could see the significance of the invention and consequently had the insight to write "a plan" for it, which was indeed the very first computer program ever written.
More info can be found here:
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/lovelace.htm
If you read the above entry, you learn that Babbage.requested Lovelace to translate his papers on Babbages s Counting machine into English.and whilst doing her former tutor this.favor added "The Notes" to the end of this translation. Which included the very first computer algorithm. And what it might achieve. Not just counting numbers but useful in music, languages, history, all subjects. that is the point. And Baggage agreed with Lovelaces.visionary computer concept and thus allowed "The Notes" to be published with his papers.
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