PERSON: Ada Lovelace

Written by Amila Monkewitz

Ada Lovelace was born in 1833. She was a mathematician and writer. Her mom was also a mathematician. Her mom gave her tutoring in math and made her very smart. When she was seventeen, Ada met Charles Babbage. She wanted to be a student of his but he was too busy thinking of his next mechanical so she tried all that she could to get his attention. When she saw an article in a Swiss journal, she knew it was the right time to try. Ada spoke and read French, which the article was written in, so she translated it into English and added her own notes as well which made it double the length! That definitely got Charle’s attention so they started collaborating together and working together. Ada always thought that computers could do more than just make calculations so that is when she made the Analytical Machine using punchcards with a special sequence that made the first computer program ever to be made!

Ada was a true inspiration for women to follow their dreams and that is what I love so much about her! Ada was so cool! I can’t believe that she was the person who made the first computer program ever! That is amazing! I think it is amazing because despite that people thought that women weren’t fit to do a job like this and had specific roles, Ada still tried and succeeded. It is so cool to have the courage to do things that people say you can’t do. That really takes a lot of courage.

Buy the book, WOMEN IN SCIENCE: 50 FEARLESS PIONEERS WHO CHANGED THE WORLD, here