Countess of Lovelace Augusta Ada KingBorn 10 Dec 1815; died 29 Nov 1852 at age 36. (countess of Lovelace) English mathematician, the legitimate daughter of Lord Byron, was educated privately, studying mathematics and astronomy in addition to the more traditional topics. She seems to have developed an early ambition to be a famous scientist. After she met Charles Babbage in 1833, she began to assist in the development of his analytical engine and published notes on the work. She was one of the first to recognize the potential of computers and has been called the first computer programmer. (The programming language Ada is named after her.) Her other plans, such as a Calculus of the Nervous System, failed to mature - the obstacles in her way were simply too great. As a woman, for example, she was denied access to the Royal Society Library.[Note: Although the Encyclopedia Britannica gives a date of death as 29 Nov 1852, a memorial inside St Mary Magdalene's Church, Hucknall, where she is buried in the Byron Vault below, is inscribed 27 Nov 1852. She was interred on 3 Dec 1852.] |