Ada Lovelace

For the computer microarchitecture, see Ada Lovelace (microarchitecture).

The Right Honourable
The Countess of Lovelace
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, daguerrotype portrait circa 1843
Daguerreotype by Antoine Claudet (c. 1843)[1]
Born
Hon. Augusta Ada Byron

(1815-12-10)10 December 1815
London, England
Died27 November 1852(1852-11-27) (aged 36)
Marylebone, London, England
Resting placeChurch of St. Mary Magdalene, Hucknall, Nottingham, England
Known forMathematics, computing
Spouse
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(m. 1835)​
Children
Parents
Signature

Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (née Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852), also known as Ada Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation.

Lovelace was the only legitimate child of poet Lord Byron and reformer Anne Isabella Milbanke.[2] All her half-siblings, Lord Byron's other children, were born out of wedlock to other women.[3] Lord Byron separated from his wife a month after Ada was born and left England forever. He died in Greece when she was eight. Lady Byron was anxious about her daughter's upbringing and promoted Lovelace's interest in mathematics and logic in an effort to prevent her from developing her father's perceived insanity. Despite this, Lovelace remained interested in her father, naming her two sons Byron and Gordon. Upon her death, she was buried next to her father at her request. Although often ill in her childhood, Lovelace pursued her studies assiduously. She married William King in 1835. King was made Earl of Lovelace in 1838, Ada thereby becoming Countess of Lovelace.

Lovelace's educational and social exploits brought her into contact with scientists such as Andrew Crosse, Charles Babbage, Sir David Brewster, Charles Wheatstone and Michael Faraday, and the author Charles Dickens, contacts which she used to further her education. Lovelace described her approach as "poetical science"[4] and herself as an "Analyst (& Metaphysician)".[5]

When she was eighteen, Lovelace's mathematical talents led her to a long working relationship and friendship with fellow British mathematician Charles Babbage, who is known as "the father of computers". She was in particular interested in Babbage's work on the Analytical Engine. Lovelace first met him on 5 June 1833, when she and her mother attended one of Charles Babbage's Saturday night soirées[6] with their mutual friend, and Lovelace's private tutor, Mary Somerville.

Between 1842 and 1843, Lovelace translated an article by the military engineer Luigi Menabrea (later Prime Minister of Italy) about the Analytical Engine, supplementing it with an elaborate set of seven notes, simply called "Notes". Lovelace's notes are important in the early history of computers, especially since the seventh one contained what many consider to be the first computer program—that is, an algorithm designed to be carried out by a machine. Other historians reject this perspective and point out that Babbage's personal notes from 1837 to 1840 contain the first programs for the engine.[7][8][9] She also developed a vision of the capability of computers to go beyond mere calculating or number-crunching, while many others, including Babbage himself, focused only on those capabilities.[10] Her mindset of "poetical science" led her to ask questions about the Analytical Engine (as shown in her notes), examining how individuals and society relate to technology as a collaborative tool.[3] The programming language Ada is named after her.

  1. ^ "Only known photographs of Ada Lovelace in Bodleian Display". Bodleian. 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Ada Lovelace Biography". biography.com. 6 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b Toole, Betty Alexandra (1987), "Poetical Science", The Byron Journal, 15: 55–65, doi:10.3828/bj.1987.6.
  4. ^ Toole 1998, pp. 234–235.
  5. ^ Toole 1998, pp. 156–157.
  6. ^ Toole, Betty Alexandra (2010). Ada, the Enchantress of Numbers:Poetical Science (Kindle ed.). Critical Connection. pp. Location 641.
  7. ^ Bromley 1982, p. 215.
  8. ^ Bromley 1990, p. 89.
  9. ^ Ventana al Conocimiento (9 December 2015). "Ada Lovelace: Original and Visionary, but No Programmer".
  10. ^ Fuegi & Francis 2003, pp. 19, 25.