Maths and Scientific and modern Computing owes a lot to Ada Lovelace (1815 – 1852, British). She was considered the first programmer in history, the founder of computing. However – as expected – the English poet Lord Byron’s daughter didn’t get the deserved acknowledgement until the 20th century when the first computers were born.

Nowadays Ada Lovelace is considered key in technology – for instance, back in 1979 a computer programming was named after her – however we have to remember she lived being considered a mere Charles Babbage’s assistant (he was the brilliant mathematician who developed the very first computer). This first machine was able to do algebra and calculations and removed the mistakes that people in charge of doing those used to do. Ada was very interested for the project and she joined Babbage not only to help investigating but also to promote the machine.

If you just want to know why an important poet’s daughter chose technology instead of lyrics, we can find an explanation in her mother, the baroness Anna Isabella Noel Byron, who always pushed her daughter to embrace Science. However, Ada always considered herself a “scientific poetess”.

In 1835 she was married with William King and soon after that she became into the countess of Lovelace, a title she used since then. She had three kids and an intense love life (rumours say she had many affairs). After all she was the daugher of a passionate and eccentric Lord Byron…

She died in 1852 because of a cervix cancer, interrupting her prolific career. She was only 37 years old. Ada’s wish – who had become very religious over the last few years – was being buried close to her father, who also had died around that age.

Every year, by half October, an event in her honor remember us the way many women helped to improve Technology, Science, Engineering and Maths. One more way to ensure that the gender doesn’t influence your taste and selections in life.

María Vintage Photography y Wikipedia.

Texto de @Esther Ginés