Women in Science: Ada Lovelace, the First Computer Programmer
Computers streamline everything we do, from making our grocery list to checking the weather. With the Apple iOS Store adding ~20,000 apps per month, more and more of us are trying our hand at computer programming. But who was the first computer programmer?
These days, we back up every email we send without even thinking about it, and we look to our computers to tell us the weather rather than looking outside. Today’s teenagers will never know a world without Twitter. At the age of two, my toddler already knows how to start up her favorite videos on my smart phone (the ones of herself, naturally).
With the Apple iOS Store adding ~20,000 apps per month, coders all over the world are turning computational problems into executable computer programs ranging from the simple to the extremely complex. But who was the first to do so?
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
The First Computer Programmer
Lady Ada Lovelace, born in 1815, is considered by many to be the first computer programmer. Her mother Annabella Milbanke fostered an interest in logic problems and mathematics with Ada from a young age—supposedly to combat the influence of what she saw as the volatile and erratic temperament of Ada’s father, the poet Lord Byron. Lord Byron is said to have been disappointed that Ada was not a son and left both her and her mother only months after Ada was born.
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
Thank you,
Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American
