Augusta Ada Byron (1815-1852) was an English mathematician. From a young age, she was attracted to study science, logic, and mathematics. At 17, she was introduced to Charles Babbage – the inventor of the mechanical calculator. He became her mentor, and Lovelace assisted him in developing the early prototype of the modern computer, the Analytical Engine. At 27, she translated an article of the Italian Engineer Luigi Menabrea about the Analytical Engine. In her translation, Lovelace added notes and reviewed the machine potential. She explained that with the correct programming, it could also create art such as pictures and music. She also added an algorithm to calculate a sequence of Bernoulli numbers.
Her theory was so revolutionary that it took over a century to be recognized as the first computer algorithm, and credit her as the first computer programmer. It was only in the 1940s when Alan Turing was the first to implement her theory when he worked on the modern computer.
Ada Lovelace Day, founded in 2009 by Suw Charman-Anderson, commemorates Lovelace’s pioneering work. The day is also an opportunity to celebrate women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and recognize their achievements. Women are and had always been an underrepresented group in the STEM fields. Ada Lovelace Day aims to highlight women scientists, programmers, and engineers and support and encourage girls and women to learn those disciplines and start a career in STEM.
Created for the Ada Initiative, which supported open technology and women. Source – Wikipedia.
The day, held annually on the second Tuesday of October, is an international occasion that includes various events, from conferences to pub quizzes. A new tradition started on this day is Wikipedia’s ‘edit-a-thons.’ When people edit Wikipedia pages to increase the information about women’s achievements and reduce gender-biased information.
You can join the celebrations by learning more about Lovelace’s life and accomplishments, discover other women who had an impact on the STEM industry, and share your findings on social media.
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