Ada Lovelace

Biography

The only legitimate daughter of Lord Byron, Ada was raised on mathematics to counter her father's 'poetic' temperament — and combined both. Translating an article on Charles Babbage's proposed Analytical Engine in 1843, she added notes three times its length, including an algorithm for computing Bernoulli numbers: the first computer program.

English mathematician whose notes on Babbage's Analytical Engine foresaw computing a century before computers existed.

Known for

Writing the first algorithm intended for a machine — the first computer program.

Notable works & defining projects

• Notes on the Analytical Engine (1843)
• Correspondence with Charles Babbage
• Bernoulli numbers algorithm

Notable achievements

• Published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by a machine (1843), for Babbage's Analytical Engine
• Recognised that computers could manipulate symbols and create music and art, beyond mere calculation
• The Ada programming language, developed for the U.S. Department of Defense, was named for her in 1980

Timeline

1. 1833Met Charles Babbage and saw his Difference Engine
2. 1843Published her translation and notes on the Analytical Engine
3. 1980The Ada programming language was named in her honour

Did you know?

• She was the daughter of the poet Lord Byron, whom she never met
• She called her approach 'poetical science'