Ada Lovelace

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Ada Lovelace

Birth and Death

Born December 10, 1815 and died November 27, 1852

Major Contributions

Lovelace discovered that a computer could follow a sequence of instructions, known as a program to solve complex calculations. She also helped design the 'Analytical Engine,' a steam-powered programmable computer. She hypothesized that computers could manipulate symbols according to rules marking the transition from calculation to computation. 'There is no great invention without a great imagination' - Ada Lovelace.

She realized that computers could do more than merely solving mathematical calculations. Lovelace also published her own findings about the Analytical Engine, explaining how the machine could be programmed with code and solve complex mathematics. She only gained recognition in 1953 when Bertram Vivian Bowden, a British nuclear physicist, published a book reintroducing Lovelace's contributions to programming.