Ada Lovelace

Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (née Byron; December 10, 1815 – November 27, 1852) is an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine.

She is the first to recognize that the machine has applications beyond pure calculation, and publishes the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine.

As a result, she is sometimes regarded as the first to recognize the full potential of a "computing machine" and the first computer programmer.

Lovelace is the only legitimate child of the poet Lord Byron and his wife Anne Isabella "Annabella" Milbanke, Lady Wentworth.

All of Byron's other children had been born out of wedlock to other women.

Byron separated from his wife a month after Ada was born and left England forever four months later.

He commemorated the parting in a poem that begins, "Is thy face like thy mother's my fair child! ADA! sole daughter of my house and heart?".

He dies of disease in the Greek War of Independence when Ada is eight years old.

Her mother remains bitter and promotes Ada's interest in mathematics and logic in an effort to prevent her from developing her father's perceived insanity.

Despite this, Ada remains interested in Byron and is, upon her eventual death, buried next to him at her request.

She is often ill in her childhood.

Ada marries William King in 1835. King is made Earl of Lovelace in 1838, Ada thereby becoming Countess of Lovelace.

Her educational and social exploits bring her into contact with scientists such as Andrew Crosse, Sir David Brewster, Charles Wheatstone, Michael Faraday and the author Charles Dickens, contacts which she uses to further her education.

Ada describes her approach as "poetical science" and herself as an "Analyst (& Metaphysician)".

When she is a teenager, her mathematical talents lead her to a long working relationship and friendship with fellow British mathematician Charles Babbage, also known as "the father of computers", and in particular, Babbage's work on the Analytical Engine.

Lovelace first meets him in June 1833, through their mutual friend, and her private tutor, Mary Somerville.

Between 1842 and 1843, Ada translates an article by Italian military engineer Luigi Menabrea on the engine, supplementing it with an elaborate set of notes, simply called Notes.

These notes contain what many consider to be the first computer program—that is, an algorithm designed to be carried out by a machine

Lovelace's notes are important in the early history of computers.

She also develops a vision of the capability of computers to go beyond mere calculating or number-crunching, while many others, including Babbage himself, focus only on those capabilities.

Her mindset of "poetical science" lead her to ask questions about the Analytical Engine (as shown in her notes) examining how individuals and society relate to technology as a collaborative tool.

She dies of uterine cancer in 1852 at the age of thirty-six.

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