Science & Technology
A legendary life
Ada Lovelace
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace
1815 – 1852
English mathematician and writer whose work on the Analytical Engine anticipated general-purpose computing.
Her story
A life that changed history
Ada Lovelace studied Charles Babbage's proposed Analytical Engine and recognized that it could have uses beyond numerical calculation. Her published notes included an algorithm intended for the machine, and she is widely regarded as one of the first computer programmers.
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Notes on the Analytical Engine, 1843
“That brain of mine is something more than mortal; as time will show.”
Letter to Charles Babbage, 5 July 1843