Ada Lovelace
First computer programmer
English mathematician (1815-1852), daughter of Lord Byron.
Raised on hard mathematics by a mother determined to keep her away from her absent father's poetic chaos — Ada ended up loving both. Translated a paper on Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine and added 'notes' three times longer than the original, including an algorithm to compute Bernoulli numbers: the first published computer program. Called her work 'poetical science.'
Famous for
- First published algorithm (Bernoulli numbers)
- Notes on Babbage's Analytical Engine
- Foresaw general-purpose computing
- Ada programming language named in her honor
In Rubicon
Ada Lovelace is one of the historical characters you can play as in Rubicon, a trivia game where you answer in your own words and an AI judge reads what you meant. Ada Lovelace is filed under Technology & Engineering, and is strongest at Technology & Engineering and Natural Sciences.
Others in Technology & Engineering
- Nikola Tesla — Alternating current + wireless dreams
- Alexander Graham Bell — Invented the telephone
- Alan Turing — Father of computer science
- Archimedes of Syracuse — Eureka! + war machines
- Hedy Lamarr — Movie star + frequency hopping
- Charles Babbage — Father of the computer