Ada Lovelace

Born Augusta Ada Byron in England in 1815, this child of Lady Byron and noted poet Lord Byron was deemed “the first programmer” and a “prophet of the computer age” in a post on the Computer History Museum’s website.

She never met her father, according to an article from the San Diego Supercomputer Center. And her mother sought math and music tutoring for the young Lovelace – unusual for the time.

In 1843, Lovelace – her full married name was Ada King, Countess of Lovelace – published a translated article on the “analytical engine,” adding notes about how a stepwise sequence of operations can solve math problems. She speculated that the engine can compose, not only numbers, but music as well.

Her writing represents the transition from calculation to computation. Lovelace died in 1852 at age 37.