From smartphones to laptops and desktops, computer technology has permeated every aspect of our daily lives. The person we should thank as the ancestor of all this is probably the world’s first programmer. So, who is the world’s first programmer? If you haven’t heard the name Ada Lovelace before, the answer to the question of who is the world’s first programmer may surprise you.
Who is Ada Lovelace?
Ada Lovelace is the person who lived more than 100 years before computers became widespread and is considered the world’s first computer programmer. Lovelace was born Ada Byron on December 10, 1815. His father was the famous poet Lord Byron and his mother was Annabella Milbanke, the Lord’s first wife.
Lovelace’s parents separated shortly after birth. In fact, Ada never even met her father, who died when she was only eight years old. She grew up in London, England. Her mother did not want young Ada to become a poet like her father. She wanted her to study music, French, and math.
Lovelace was often sick in her childhood. That’s why he spent years not being able to leave his house. While this situation was bad overall, it gave him a lot of time to work with his teachers. He was interested in mathematics from an early age. Lovelace continued her work throughout her life. He became one of the most brilliant mathematicians of his time.
World’s first programmer: Ada LovelaceWhen Lovelace was young, she met a mathematician named Charles Babbage. Babbage was impressed by the young woman’s math skills. Babbage wanted to develop a calculator. He called this project the Difference Machine. He shared his plans with Lovelace, who became deeply interested in the idea.
Babbage also showed Lovelace his Analytical Machine blueprints. His thoughts on this machine were too advanced for that time. This machine aimed to perform mathematical operations quickly. The Analytical Engine wasn’t built during the couple’s lifetimes. Still, Babbage and Lovelace spent most of their lives designing this machine.
Lovelace enthusiastically assisted Babbage with his designs. He translated an article on machinery in 1843. This article was written in French by the Italian mathematician Luigi Menabrea. Lovelace rewrote this in English.
However, he did much more than translate the article. Lovelace added her own notes on the Analytical Machine and what it can do. In total, his notes were three times longer than the article itself. With these notes, he demonstrated that he had a machine understanding that went beyond even Babbage.
The world’s first computer program
In his notes, Lovelace described how the Analytical Machine would perform algorithms and even gave an example. In this example, the machine had a set of commands that would allow it to calculate Bernoulli numbers. This command is today considered the first computer program ever written. This makes Ada Lovelace the world’s first computer programmer.
Ada Lovelace died of cancer in 1852 at the age of only 36. She became Countess of Lovelace in 1938 when her husband, William King, became the first Earl of Lovelace. When Ada died, she left behind her husband, three children, and a computer programming legacy.
However, after Ada Lovelace died, computer programming did not become a profession for nearly a century. In the late 1940s, six women became the first professional computer programmers. Their names were Jean Jennings Bartik, Frances Elizabeth Holberton, France Bilas Spence, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, Kathleen McNulty Mauchly Antonelli and Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum. They worked for the US Army and programmed a computer called the Electronic Digital Integrator and Computer (ENIAC).
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