Ada’s ideas; the story of Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer
Summary:
Ada Lovelace was born in England in 1815 to Anne Milbanke, a wealthy mathematician, and the poet Lord Byron. Ada was raised by her mother when her parents separated and was encouraged in serious, rigorous study from an early age. The Industrial Revolution necessitated the rapid development of giant steam-powered machines and Ada became fascinated by these. Inspired by gifted people of her time – Dickens, Faraday and Charles Babbage – Ada began to invent. Babbage had already invented the first steam-powered calculator, which formed the basis for the world’s first computer. Ada invented an algorithm (set of instructions) that could be punched into cards and form a “program” for Babbage’s computer. She foresaw that computers had potential to create pictures, music and words and not just to make calculations (courtesy of Children’s Books Ireland, BOLD Girls Resource Pack).
Edited by: Dublin City University
Comment:
Ada died aged thirty-six and it took another hundred years for the first working computer to be created. But Ada had led the way (courtesy of Children’s Books Ireland, BOLD Girls Resource Pack). This picture book biography of Ada Lovelace is a portrait of a woman who saw the potential for numbers to make art.